Sir Keir Starmer’s perilous position, strengthened slightly last night as a series of cabinet ministers and senior Labour figures staged a coordinated show of unity behind the beleaguered Prime Minister.
The Labour leader seemed on the brink of being forced out after the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar dramatically called for the Prime Minister’s resignation, warning that “too many mistakes” have left the government in peril.
In a move that sent shockwaves through Westminster, Mr. Sarwar used a high-stakes press conference to declare that the situation in Downing Street was “not good enough.” With Scottish elections looming in just three months, the Glasgow MSP said his “first loyalty” was to Scotland, effectively distancing himself from a Downing Street operation he described as being “drowned out” by scandal.
The response from the Cabinet was almost instantaneous. In what appeared to be a pre-planned defensive manoeuvre, after hours of silence, senior ministers flooded social media with endorsements of the Prime Minister just as Mr. Sarwar began to speak.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told BBC Breakfast that the party had “looked over the precipice” on Monday but decided that supporting the leader was the only way to avoid “the road of a chaotic leadership election.”
Mr Miliband, himself a former leader, admitted it was a “moment of peril” as he did this morning’s media round, insisting the Cabinet had rejected deposition. However, one report suggested that Cabinet ministers had been threatened with the sack if they didn’t show support.
The Prime Minister also addressed a charged meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) last night in Parliament. Greeted with a thunderous round of applause, reports suggest Sir Keir was defiant. “Every fight I’ve been in, I have won,” he told his MPs, vowing not to “walk away from my mandate” or plunge the country into chaos.
Despite a standing ovation and the public backing of Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, the atmosphere remains febrile. Several MPs reportedly used the private meeting to ask “forthright” and critical questions about the Prime Minister’s judgment over the appointment of Lord Mandelson, the direction of policy and expanding his team to include those from the left of the party, Parliament News understands.
The crisis triggered by the fallout from the appointment of Lord Mandelson as UK Ambassador to the US despite his well-known links to Jeffrey Epstein has already led to the resignation of Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney and Director of Communication Tim Allen, while the Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald, the most UK’s senior civil servant, is also expected to announce his departure in the coming days. Sir Keir continues to maintain he was repeatedly misled by Lord Mandelson regarding the peer’s links to the convicted paedophile, but the scandal has damage the PM, who has made a series of policy U-turns, lacking a clear narrative and “not doing politics”.
As one Labour MP told us, that Sir Keir’s lack of political experience had been seen as a strength in 2024, but was now a weakness, as he lurched from one crisis to another. The MP added, that this lack of experience and grown-ups in No 10 was making look Labour look as “bad at the Tories under Boris and Truss”.
Further complicating the new, Health Secretary Wes Streeting — frequently cited as a potential successor — took the extraordinary step of publishing his private correspondence with Lord Mandelson. While intended to clear his name of “smear and innuendo,” which the Mr Streeting came from those within Downing Street, the messages revealed private criticisms of the government’s economic strategy and position on Israel.
While the “payroll vote” has held for now, the intervention from Scotland’s most senior Labour figure has weakened the Prime Minister. As Nigel Farage noted on the sidelines, “Anas Sarwar is a very big marker.” For Sir Keir, the challenge is no longer just about winning the next fight, but proving he can govern his Party and a country that only 18 months ago gave him a huge mandate.
Starmer clings on after Cabinet and PLP close ranks
