Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to remain at the helm of Britain’s government on Monday, even as another senior aide resigned and he prepared to confront lawmakers angered by his administration’s involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Starmer is racing to stabilize his leadership amid growing calls for his resignation following the controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson as United States ambassador, despite Mandelson’s continued association with Epstein after the convicted sex offender’s 2008 conviction.
Addressing staff at Downing Street, the beleaguered premier expressed his determination to “go forward… with confidence as we continue changing the country,” according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The prime minister is concentrating on the job in hand,” Starmer’s official spokesman told reporters, adding that the Labour leader remains “upbeat,” despite mounting murmurs from MPs that his tenure may be coming to an end.
In a fresh blow, Starmer’s communications director Tim Allan resigned on Monday, just months into the role, following the departure of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who had advised Starmer to make the contentious Mandelson appointment.
McSweeney’s exit deprives the prime minister of his closest adviser, who had played a key role in steering Labour back to the centre after Starmer succeeded Jeremy Corbyn in 2020.
‘Untenable’ –
Allan said in a brief statement that he wished “to allow a new No.10 team to be built.”
Starmer has cycled through several communications chiefs in his relatively short time in office, with staff departures, policy reversals, and missteps increasingly defining his administration and undermining his popularity.
Later Monday, he was scheduled to address Labour MPs in a high-stakes meeting.
“Advisers advise, leaders decide. He made a bad decision, he should take responsibility for that,” Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch told BBC radio, describing Starmer’s position as “untenable.”
The controversy over Mandelson’s appointment, fueled by emails revealing that he maintained ties with Epstein well after the latter’s 2008 conviction, has emerged as the most serious crisis of Starmer’s turbulent premiership.
Several backbench Labour MPs, largely from the party’s left-wing faction that has long opposed Starmer’s centrist approach, have suggested the prime minister should follow McSweeney out the door.
UK media outlets have cited senior ministers who believe he will step down soon, speaking anonymously.
Nevertheless, some leading figures have defended Starmer, citing the lack of a clear successor and the party’s preparations for key local elections in May.
Cabinet minister Pat McFadden expressed confidence, saying Starmer would likely remain leader “this time next year” and pointing to his “five-year mandate.”
Labour has trailed Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party by double digits in polls for over a year, fueling unease among MPs, though the next general election is not expected until 2029.
Starmer dismissed Mandelson in September following documents released by the US Congress, which revealed the depth of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein. The financier had died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex offenses.
Newly released US government documents on January 30 have reignited the controversy, suggesting Mandelson leaked confidential UK government information to Epstein during his tenure as a British minister, including during the 2008 financial crisis.
Police are investigating Mandelson, 72, for misconduct in public office and raided two of his properties on Friday, though he has not been arrested.
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer and top prosecutor for England and Wales, has apologised to Epstein’s victims and accused Mandelson of lying about the extent of his connections to the financier during the vetting process.
The UK government is expected to release tens of thousands of emails, messages, and documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment, which could further intensify scrutiny on the prime minister and other senior Labour officials.
Starmer also faces a crucial by-election on February 28, with defeat potentially worsening his political challenges.
“[His] position is not terminal but he has to re-discover a sense of purpose for his administration,” Patrick Diamond, a former Downing Street adviser, told AFP.
