UK’s Starmer refuses to heed calls to quit over Mandelson scandal

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a rallying cry to his staff on Monday, signalling he would not heed calls to step down after a second aide resigned over the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.

Downing Street Communications chief, Tim Allan, said he was resigning to make way for a new team to support the British leader, a day after Starmer’s closest aide, Morgan McSweeney, stepped down over Mandelson’s ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

With the Epstein revelations raising questions over Starmer’s judgment and ability to govern, the British prime minister addressed staff at his Downing Street office on Monday to again express his regret over the Mandelson appointment.

“We must prove that politics can be a force for good,” he told them, praising McSweeney as “a friend” who helped change the Labour party and win the 2024 national election with one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history.

“I believe it can. I believe it is. We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.”

His spokesperson later told reporters Starmer was focused on getting on with the job and had no plans to step aside, adding Allan’s resignation happened after the staff meeting.

But the pressure showed no sign of abating, with the Times newspaper reporting that Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, would call for Starmer to quit when he holds a press conference later on Monday.

Labour in Scotland has seen its support slump since the 2024 election, with some polls putting it in third position behind the Scottish National Party and the populist Reform UK.

The second resignation and reports on Sarwar’s position did little to quieten those voices in Labour and opposition parties calling on Starmer to step down.

British 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.

“It’s painful,” said one Labour lawmaker on condition of anonymity. “It’s like watching a fatal car crash in slow motion.”