Al Carns, Armed Forces Minister, is the ‘real deal’ – and could be the solution to the Mandelson mess

Keir Starmer’s premiership is now in open crisis. What began as a controversy over Peter Mandelson’s appointment has spiralled into a defining moment of political vulnerability, exposing a deeper pattern of misjudgment, ethical missteps and faltering authority that has been building for months. 

The scandal has not only triggered a police investigation but has fractured internal confidence to a degree rarely seen so early in a government’s term. 

McSweeney steps down and union boss calls for PM to go

Further proof points of a PM in crisis include the resignation over the weekend of Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and the first public call from a trade union boss for the PM to go. Steve Wright, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), told BBC TV programme Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I think there needs to be a leadership change and I think MPs need to be calling for that and trigger it.” 

Starmer’s critics argue that the Mandelson affair was not an isolated lapse but the culmination of a series of avoidable errors: misjudged personnel decisions, inconsistent disciplinary calls and communication failures that steadily eroded trust. 

His admission that he “believed Mandelson’s lies” has been interpreted less as candour and more as confirmation of poor judgment and, latterly, weak crisis management.

Senior Labour figures have described the situation as “serious,” “self‑inflicted” and “untenable.”

Conversation has shifted to succession: Rayner, Streeting, Cooper …

As the scandal deepens, the political conversation has shifted decisively from crisis containment to succession. Westminster is now asking the question that defines every leadership moment: if Starmer falls, who steps in?

Several names dominate the early manoeuvring. 

Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader, is popular with the grassroots and untainted by the Mandelson decision.

Wes Streeting appeals to MPs seeking a modernising reset and a generational shift.

Rachel Reeves, as Chancellor, offers continuity and economic stability, while Yvette Cooper is viewed as the experienced, steady‑hand option capable of restoring order.

A new name is drawing attention … Al Carns

But a new name has begun circulating with increasing frequency: Al Carns, the Armed Forces Minister.

Described by some insiders as the utopian candidate, Carns represents a different kind of proposition, one rooted in credibility, professional authority and broad electoral appeal. 

Supporters argue he embodies the qualities Labour will need to hold back the rising tide of Reform at a general election: clarity, competence and a clean break from the internal dramas that have consumed the party. 

Time for the real deal

His profile – serious, grounded and untainted by the current scandal – has made him an intriguing outsider with growing insider momentum.

As well as looking the part – a square jaw, steely stare – Carns’s backstory has voter appeal. He served 24 years in the Royal Marines, winning a Military Cross for gallantry in Afghanistan. The MP for Birmingham Selly Oak was awarded the DSO last year. Oh, and last year he took a week off to scale Mt Everest in record time with three of his ex-Special Forces pals. He did it to raise funds for military veterans’ charities. Just Al Carns doing Al Carns things.

Those in the know describe Carns as “the real deal.” If the Labour Party is serious about moving past its current crisis and setting a decisive course for the next general election, it’ll get Carns in the mix pronto. 

They’ve tried the technocrat. Now it’s time for the real deal.

But do the strange characters on the Labour Party’s NEC even realise that the answer to its current woes is standing in their midst? Time will tell.