Politics

Former Attorney General Accused of Calling British 'The Brits' Like IRA

Triggernometry · The British State Hates its Own People - Dr David Starkey · June 20, 2026

Triggernometry

The British State Hates its Own People - Dr David Starkey

"John McTernan, what does he actually say? He says, This is why the Brits thought, the Brits, what the IRA call the British as a term of hatred and contempt. A leading member of the Labour Party talks of his own people in those terms."

Starkey condemned Labour Party figure John McTernan for referring to the British as 'the Brits,' language historically used by the IRA as a term of contempt. He positioned this as evidence that the current Labour government 'hates the British' and favors immigrants and IRA terrorists over native citizens. The comment came in context of legislation making Northern Ireland veterans prosecutable while exempting terrorists.

About this episode

In this urgent episode of Trigonometry, hosts Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster sit down with historian David Starkey to dissect what he describes as an existential crisis for Britain comparable only to the World Wars. Starkey, a Conservative who now supports Reform, delivers a scathing analysis arguing that the British state has turned against its people through structural constitutional failures introduced primarily under Tony Blair's New Labour government between 1997 and 2010. The central thesis: Blair's Human Rights Act and Gordon Brown's Equality Act embedded an alien legal system into Britain's constitutional framework that makes effective governance impossible, creating what Starkey calls an 'autoimmune disease' consuming the state from within. He argues this explains why successive governments have failed—from Cameron through Sunak to Starmer—because the legal and quango structures make meaningful policy execution impossible regardless of who holds office. Starkey warns Britain faces possible national bankruptcy, dangerous military overreach against Russia without adequate armed forces, and social disintegration. He predicts Andy Burnham's likely future government will fail catastrophically, accelerating the crisis. Despite deep policy convergence between Reform, the Conservatives, and Restore on repealing New Labour legislation, Starkey despairs at the personality clashes and infighting preventing right-wing unity. He explicitly states he believes Britain may not survive, calling the next election existential. The episode closes with Starkey's controversial proposal to strip Tony Blair and Theresa May of their honors as public accountability for what he terms their guilty role in Britain's destruction, comparing them to appeasement-era politicians who will be condemned by future historians.

Key takeaways

Starkey warned Britain may not survive the current crisis, citing national bankruptcy risk, dangerous Russia policy without military strength, and state collapse as existential threats facing the country.
New Labour under Blair and Brown embedded alien human rights law into Britain creating structural impossibility of governance, with Lord Bingham explicitly stating human rights law is anti-democratic and counter-majoritarian.
Starkey proposed stripping Tony Blair of the Garter and Theresa May of her peerage as public shaming for their roles in destroying Britain's constitutional framework.
The Equality Act allows judges to override market wages, already bankrupting Birmingham Council and guaranteed to bankrupt companies nationwide by letting judges set wages separate from market rates.
Despite policy convergence on repealing New Labour legislation, Reform, Conservatives, and Restore are divided by personality clashes preventing necessary right-wing unity before the next election.
Labour figure John McTernan accused of referring to British as 'the Brits' using IRA language of contempt while Labour pushes legislation prosecuting Northern Ireland veterans but exempting terrorists.
Starkey argued Conservative Party must acknowledge 14 years of failure under Cameron, May, Johnson, and Sunak before it can credibly challenge Labour, but Badenoch has failed to make this mea culpa.