Starmer catches a break as UK Cabinet gives show of support amid Mandelson-Epstein fallout
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street next to deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, in London, Britain.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON - Keir Starmer’s Cabinet members voiced their support for the prime minister on Feb 9, buying him time to shore up his beleaguered premiership
One by one, every single Cabinet minister backed Mr Starmer in the hour after Mr Anas Sarwar’s intervention, as did former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who alongside Health Secretary Wes Streeting is seen as the most likely senior figure to launch a leadership challenge against the prime minister.
Mr Streeting told Sky’s flagship political podcast that people should “give Keir a chance,” while Ms Rayner gave the premier her “full support.”
“The worst possible response would be to play party politics or factional games,” Ms Rayner said in a post on X. “I urge all my colleagues to come together, remember our values and put them into practice as a team. The Prime Minister has my full support in leading us to that end.”
Before the Cabinet rushed to steady Mr Starmer, the situation appeared perilous.
Mr Sarwar’s intervention came after some Labour backbenchers had already called for the prime minister to take responsibility for his controversial decision in late 2024 to appoint Mr Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US. That appointment was made despite the premier’s knowledge that the Labour grandee had maintained ties with Jeffrey Epstein for years after his 2008 conviction in a state prostitution case involving a minor.
“The distraction needs to end, and the leadership in Downing Street has to change,” Mr Sarwar said on Feb 9 in a televised press conference.
With May’s elections approaching, the loss of Mr Sarwar’s backing is a blow to Mr Starmer. The Scottish Labour leader has grown increasing critical of the prime minister ahead of what’s expected to be a tough ballot for control of Scotland’s devolved Parliament, and on Feb 9 said it wasn’t “easy” to pull support from a man with whom he professed to have a “genuine friendship.”
Mr Starmer spokesman, Tom Wells, earlier told reporters the prime minister wasn’t planning to resign. The premier was due to address Labour MPs on the evening of Feb 9.
Among other senior Labour figures to declare their support for Mr Starmer were Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Defence Secretary John Healey.
“Rebuilding Britain takes time,” Ms Reeves said. “But thanks to the decisions we’ve made NHS waiting lists are falling. Inflation is falling. Interest rates are falling. The conditions for the economy to grow are there. With Keir as our Prime Minister we are turning the country around.”
Though Mr Starmer may have bought himself time, the calls for his resignation will feed a growing sense of crisis engulfing 10 Downing Street after he was hit by the departure of a second senior aide in 24 hours when his communications director, Tim Allan, quit a day after his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney
Earlier on Feb 9, Mr Starmer pledged to press on with his agenda. In his remarks to staffers in No 10, the premier praised Mr McSweeney’s contribution to Labour’s political revival in recent years and signalled that he intended to fight on as prime minister.
“We must prove that politics can be a force for good. I believe it can. I believe it is,” Mr Starmer said, according to a statement. “We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.”
The rallying of Cabinet ministers helped spark a modest rebound in UK assets on Feb 9. Gilts pared declines, leaving yields on 10-year government bonds up two basis points at 4.54 per cent. They earlier rose as much as eight basis points. Meanwhile the pound was 0.3 per cent lower against the euro, after earlier weakening as much as 0.7 per cent.
Investors have tended to react negatively to the prospect of Mr Starmer or Ms Reeves leaving their posts, out of concern they could be replaced by colleagues more willing boost spending. Ms Rayner, a prominent voice among the party’s so-called soft left, and Mr Streeting, who hails from Mr Starmer’s own centrist wing, have led betting-market odds on those mostly likely to become the next Labour leader.
Mr Starmer, who has been struggling with historically low approval ratings and faced rebellions by backbench MPs, has come under increasing fire over the Mandelson appointment, despite firing the envoy in September. The initial decision is being reexamined after the extent of Mr Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein was revealed in files released by the US Justice Department late in January.
While Mr McSweeney took the blame for Mr Mandelson’s appointment in his resignation statement, the decision ultimately rested with Mr Starmer. The criticism has fuelled questions about the prime minister’s ability to hang on, with his leadership already weakened by series of policy reversals and the rise of Mr Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK in the polls. BLOOMBERG
