Sir Keir Starmer is fighting for his political survival as calls for him to step down grow, after the resignation of his top aide over the Peter Mandelson scandal.
The embattled prime minister is expected to face the Parliamentary Labour Party today amid anger over his appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US, despite knowing that his links with Jeffrey Epstein continued after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences.
It comes after chief of staff Morgan McSweeney announced he would step down on Sunday amid the fallout from the Mandelson row.
Mr McSweeney said the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson to the role “was wrong”, before saying, “I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice”.
Downing Street ‘reeling’
Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby said that, according to two Downing Street senior sources, Mr McSweeney was initially “in two minds” about stepping down.
“As early as this morning [Sunday], he wasn’t planning to resign, necessarily,” she said, adding that the sources also told her the gravity of the situation made it clear that his resignation was “inevitable”.
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A third source also told Rigby that he and the prime minister decided it was the right moment to move on in “a mutual understanding”.
But despite the resignation, Rigby said Number 10 is “reeling” as the scandal “rips through the heart” of the Labour government.
She added that the indication within Downing Street is Sir Keir will “press on” and not step down over the affair.
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Starmer ‘mortally wounded’
One Labour MP, speaking anonymously to Sky political reporter Faye Brown, offered scathing criticism of the departing aide, saying that they “won’t be shedding a tear that he’s gone”.
“He’s the very worst of our party,” they added. “Every decision he’s taken is to bolster himself and wage a war of factionalism.
“The PM should have sacked him just as he should have with Mandelson. The buck ultimately stops with the PM.”
The MP then said that Mr McSweeney’s resignation might not save Sir Keir’s premiership, adding: “All this has done has bought him a little more time, but he’s mortally wounded and it’s not if, it’s when he goes.”
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Two unnamed Cabinet ministers have been quoted by The Times as saying Sir Keir was “weaker” and “could stand down at any moment”, a claim Downing Street said was “categorically untrue”.
Union chiefs have also heaped pressure on the Labour leader, with Maryam Eslamdoust, the general secretary of the Labour-affiliated Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, telling The Telegraph: “There’s no case for waiting until May, given the scale of defeat we are facing at these critical elections. It’s time to elect a new leader.”
By contrast, Patrick Hurley, the Labour MP for Southport, said the prime minister has his “full support” and believes Mr McSweeney’s resignation was a “turning point” for the party.
“I’m grateful to the prime minister for getting a grip on the fact that he’s been badly advised on a range of issues over the last 18 months,” he told Sky News.
“This is now a turning point and an opportunity to refocus on what the public want, and the promises we made when we were elected in 2024.
“The prime minister has my full support and I am sure the whole Parliamentary Labour Party will now collectively raise our game and deliver the positive changes the country needs.”
Files released earlier this week suggest Lord Mandelson may have shared confidential information with Epstein after the financial crash, when he was the business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government.
Lord Mandelson quit the Labour Party and resigned from the House of Lords following the revelations, though he still holds the title of being a “lord”, as removing that requires legislation.
Lord Mandelson’s representatives have been contacted for comment. He has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and said he regrets maintaining a relationship with him and apologised to the sex offender’s victims.
