British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused yesterday to heed calls to quit, even by the leader of his party in Scotland, pledging to fight on after his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador plunged his government into crisis.
Under pressure over the appointment of a man whose close ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have come into full focus, Starmer has attempted to change the narrative.
But a demand from Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, for him to quit and the departure of a second senior aide in as many days did little to stop the questions over his judgement and ability to govern.
The resignation of communications chief Tim Allan followed the exit of Starmer’s closest aide, Morgan McSweeney, who said he took responsibility for advising on the appointment of Mandelson to Britain’s top diplomatic role in the United States.
Despite Sarwar’s intervention, Starmer later received messages of support from his top ministers and some potential leadership rivals, and a positive reception at a meeting of Labour Party MPs suggested there would be no imminent move to remove him.
“After having fought so hard for the chance to change our country, I’m not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country, or to plunge us into chaos, as others have done,” Starmer told the meeting, saying his focus was preventing the populist Reform Party, headed by veteran Brexit supporter Nigel Farage, from taking power.
“That is my fight, that is all of our fight, and we’re in this together.”
Earlier Sarwar, speaking in Scotland where Labour has seen its support slump since the 2024 election, said it was with a heavy heart that he had to defend Scotland and call for a change of leader in the UK capital London.
“The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change,” he told a Press conference.
In response, a Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer had ‘a clear five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change, and that is what he will do’.
With his statement, Sarwar became the most senior Labour figure to call for Starmer’s resignation, and did little to quell a febrile mood in parliament in London’s Westminster.
Government borrowing costs rose, reflecting investors’ concerns that a more left-wing Labour leader, who was willing to borrow and spend more, could take over. The climb in yields, along with the value of the pound against the euro, later eased after the potential successors came out in Starmer’s support.
With Starmer losing his fourth director of communications, his record in government is under scrutiny, including the gaffes and policy U-turns.
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