Not Keir for lengthy? If Starmer bows to calls to give up he’ll be Labour’s shortest-serving PM of all time… and may have spent much less time in No10 than Brown
Calls for Sir Keir Starmer to quit Downing Street have raised the prospect of him becoming the shortest-serving Labour prime minister of all time.
In the biggest crisis of his premiership, the Prime Minister is being told to resign by senior figures within his own party in the wake of the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Sir Keir has been severely weakened by the exit of two key aides – his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications chief Tim Allan – within 24 hours.
If he joins them in departing No10 himself, it would mark a dramatic downfall for Sir Keir since his general election landslide in July 2024.
He has so far served one year and 219 days as PM, meaning – if he departs in the near future – he would be Labour’s shortest-serving premier of all time by some distance.
Gordon Brown, who left office in May 2010, served a total of two years and 318 days in Downing Street after succeeding Sir Tony Blair.
Sir Tony is the longest-serving Labour PM of all time, having spent 10 years and 56 days in charge of the country and winning three general elections.
James Callaghan served three years and 29 days as Labour PM in the late 1970s, while Clement Attlee spent six years and 92 days in No10 immediately after the Second World War.
Harold Wilson and Ramsay MacDonald also spent more than six years as PM, but their tenures were spread over more than one term as premier.
Wilson was PM for a total of seven years and 279 days, having first served in Downing Street between October 1964 and 1970.
He then returned for a second spell between March 1974 and April 1976.
MacDonald was PM for just over nine months between January 1924 to November 1924, before he returned as premier between June 1929 and June 1935.
The shortest-serving PM of any party is Liz Truss, who spent just 49 days in power in September and October 2022.
Her successor, Rishi Sunak, spent one year and 254 days as PM before losing the 2024 general election to Sir Keir.
Sir Keir’s premiership has been plunged into crisis following fresh revelations about Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The PM has said ‘sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies’ about his links to the paedophile financier and for naming Mandelson as US ambassador in February 2025.
But senior Labour figures are continuing to question Sir Keir’s judgement and his political future.
In a shattering blow to the PM on Monday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for Sir Keir to quit.
‘The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change,’ he said at a press conference.
Sir Keir’s Cabinet attempted to rally around him in the wake of Mr Sarwar’s comments, with senior ministers posting supportive messages on social media on Monday afternoon.
