On the same day that Starmer faced calls to resign over the Epstein-Mandelson affair, Downing Street was displaying a British Airways flight simulator as part of the government's "Apprentice Week" - right in front of Number 10.
But as it turns out, Starmer did not get into the cockpit and take off! For now, his Cabinet has closed ranks around him. However, as veteran MP, Diane Abbott, pointed out, since Labour will inevitably do badly in the May elections, it's likely that Starmer will hang on until then, shoulder the blame, and take his exit thereafter...
Some Labour ministers are making out that this latest crisis is a storm in a teacup. And (of course!) they all claim that their "thoughts are first and foremost with Epstein's victims" - and not their own political skins... No doubt they'll continue to try to out-Reform, Reform, for the time being, by producing even more reactionary policies.
As for the gargantuan deluge of email exchanges between Epstein and his friends in high places, they only reveal the usually hidden reality of women's inferior status in this class society and its built-in misogyny.
Above all, they show once more the contempt of "powerful men" (and pathetic male appointees like ex-prince Andrew) for young working class women. For them, women's "sexual attributes" are a cheap commodity, to buy and sell, on a par with everything else in capitalist society! That's today's social normality!
So no, misogyny won't be "fixed" by US Congressional Committees nor sending selected scapegoats to prison. To root out the abuse of women, the working class will have to take over and root out the class system, and build a new and different society, where the natural difference between genders can be a matter of choice rather than a determinant of society's division of labour.
In Saudi, misogyny reigns!
At the same time as Starmer was trying to control the Mandelson fall-out, Prince William's 3-day visit to Saudi Arabia was beginning. And the media reported this without any sense of disgust whatsoever!
William was shown standing next to his "royal" Saudi counterpart, Mohammed bin Salman ("MBS"), known for his brutal and yes, utterly misogynist, regime. In fact we're told how this "fraternal" heir to a medieval throne now allows women to drive, travel alone and take off the head scarf... But not how, if they try to "enjoy" these few "rights", they come under the constant scrutiny of the moral police!
Before construction of his futuristic Neom city in the desert was put on hold, MBS presided over a subcontracting system which treated migrant workers like slaves. Many were injured; some died.
But Saudi Arabia gets away with its violence against the working class and poor, against women; its jailing and killing of dissidents - and still remains "respectable"! Under its Sharia law, being gay is illegal and adultery and "apostasy" - renouncing Islam - are still capital offences. Execution, usually by decapitation, is, since 2022, no longer done in public, in Deera "Chop-Chop" Square. Executions are now done inside prisons, but their number has risen from 196 in 2022, to 356 in 2025!
Never mind about that, however - the double standards of British imperialism cover all of this. The Iranian mullahs and the rest of the so-called "Axis of Evil" are duly condemned for their repressive regimes, but Britain's own loyal homicidal maniacs are accepted as friends, provided they buy BAe's weapons. A blind eye is turned when and where they use them. Not only that, but MBS is promoted as a humanitarian mediator in world conflicts! No doubt that pending accord with the Israeli government is soon to be signed... Even if Gaza is still being bombed.
Workers know what to do
Faced with authoritarian regimes, the working class has an understandably difficult task when it tries to fight for its freedom. But it cannot do otherwise. This was evident in December/January, when the attempted uprising in Iran took place.
After the Bazaaris shut their warehouses, at first, truck drivers refused to work. When ordered to build stockpiles, Iranian Steel Co workers in Isfahan walked out, blocking the main gates, demanding wages matching inflation and protection from retaliation against strikers. The Haima car assembly plant in Mashhad struck over the dismissal of 3 workers. Ahvaz petrochemical complex workers called for subcontracted workers to be directly employed with equal wages and conditions and the payment of overdue wages. In fact, walkouts spread to workplaces right across the country.
In the absence of their own armed organisations to defend themselves, these workers were forced back to work. Some were killed; many were arrested. The workers knew they would face brutal repression, but it didn't deter them. Next time - and there will be a next time - they will hopefully be able to use the full extent of their power to overthrow the regime.
However, their situation - and ours, men and women alike - will only effectively change when the working class in the heartland of imperialism sees all these fights as its fight - and follows the Iranian workers' example.