Share and Follow
Anas Sarwar, the head of Scotland’s Labour Party, has urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down following the exposure of former British ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson’s, ties with the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Amidst growing instability after just 19 months in office, Sarwar stated on Monday (early Tuesday AEDT) that “the ongoing distraction must cease, and leadership at Downing Street requires a new direction.”
As the most prominent Labour figure to demand Starmer’s resignation, Sarwar has intensified the pressure on the prime minister for appointing Mandelson to a prominent diplomatic role.
“There have been excessive blunders,” Sarwar remarked, noting his appeal was aimed at safeguarding Labour’s prospects in the upcoming elections for Scotland’s semi-autonomous Parliament in May.
Adding to the turmoil, Starmer’s chief of staff and his communications director have both resigned in the past 24 hours, leaving the prime minister struggling to maintain his rapidly eroding authority.
Starmer’s office said on Monday that he is not planning to step down.
“He has a clear five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change, and that is what he will do,” Downing Street said in a statement.
A string of senior Cabinet colleagues spoke up to defend Starmer. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy wrote on X: “We should let nothing distract us from our mission to change Britain and we support the Prime Minister in doing that.”
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper posted: “At this crucial time for the world, we need his leadership not just at home but on the global stage.”
Treasury chief Rachel Reeves wrote: “With Keir as our Prime Minister we are turning the country around.”
Starmer was due to address Labour politicians behind closed doors Monday evening in an attempt to rebuild some of his badly weakened authority.
The political storm stems from Starmer’s decision in 2024 to appoint Mandelson to Britain’s most important diplomatic post, despite knowing he had ties to Epstein.
Starmer fired Mandelson last September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offences involving a minor. Critics say Starmer should have known better than to appoint Mandelson, 72, a contentious figure whose career has been studded with scandals over money or ethics.
A new trove of Epstein files released in the US has brought more details about the relationship, and new pressure on Starmer.
Starmer apologised last week for “having believed Mandelson’s lies”.
He promised to release documentation related to Mandelson’s appointment, which the government says will show that Mandelson misled officials about his ties to Epstein. But publication of the documents could be weeks away. They must be vetted on national security grounds and for potential conflicts with a police investigation.
Police are investigating Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office over documents suggesting he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Mandelson has not been arrested or charged, and does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.
Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, took the fall for the decision by quitting on Sunday.
“I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice,” he said.
McSweeney has been Starmer’s most important aide since he became Labour leader in 2020, and is considered a key architect of Labour’s landslide July 2024 election victory. But some in the party blame him for a series of missteps since then.
Some Labour officials hope that his departure will buy the prime minister time to rebuild trust with the party and the country.
Senior politician Emily Thornberry said McSweeney had become a “divisive figure” and his departure brought the opportunity for a reset.
She said Starmer is “a good leader in that he is strong and clear. I think that he needs to step up a bit more than he has.”
Others say McSweeney’s departure leaves Starmer weak and isolated.
Opposition calls to resign
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer “has made bad decision after bad decision” and “his position now is untenable.”
Since winning office, Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He pledged a return to honest government after 14 years of scandal-tarred Conservative rule, but has been beset by missteps and U-turns over welfare cuts and other unpopular policies.
Labour consistently lags behind the hard-right Reform UK party in opinion polls, and its failure to improve had sparked talk of a leadership challenge, even before the Mandelson revelations.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system, prime ministers can change without the need for a national election. If Starmer is challenged or resigns, it will trigger an election for the Labour leadership. The winner would become prime minister.
The Conservatives went through three prime ministers between national elections in 2019 and 2024, including Liz Truss, who lasted just 49 days in office.
Starmer was elected on a promise to end the political chaos that roiled the Conservatives’ final years in power. That proved easier said than done.
Labour politician Clive Efford said Starmer’s critics should “be careful what you wish for”.
“I don’t think people took to the changes in prime minister when the Tories were in power,” he told the BBC.
“It didn’t do them any good.”
NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.