‘Keir Starmer survived nightmare week in No10 – however these key assessments stay’

The immediate danger to Keir Starmer’s position as Prime Minister appears to have faded after his worst week in office – but he still faces a number of difficult hurdles

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Keir Starmer had a brush with political death this week.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s call for his resignation on Monday – hot on the heels of the resignations of his chief of staff and top spin doctor – left the PM teetering on the brink. But Mr Starmer survived this moment of real peril after a Herculean push by his team, who set up a ‘war room’ in No10 to hit the phones to shore up his position.

One by one, the Cabinet came to his defence, as well as potential leadership rivals such as ex-Deputy PM Angela Rayner and Health Secretary Wes Streeting. No10’s fight-back had paid off. While Mr Starmer’s authority was badly wounded, his premiership had survived the day.

As MPs fled Westminster for Parliamentary recess on Thursday, Downing Street now has a much-needed moment to catch its breath. On Friday, special advisers were brought into Downing Street for an “away day” to kickstart a reset of the Government.

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The absence of Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s now ex-chief of staff who usually leads these events, was a clear indication of how much has changed so quickly. But insiders were keen to draw a line under the turmoil, and set the stage for a new chapter for Mr Starmer’s crisis-hit operation.

“There was an acknowledgement that the week has been tough. But the vibe was very much that the next election is all to play for,” one adviser said. “Governments in the past have come back from bigger deficits in the polls and gone on to win. The mood was positive.

“The meat of the meeting was about how the Government has to focus on what people outside Westminster care about, which is overwhelmingly the cost of living.”

The meeting was very “women-led”, as Amy Richards, No10’s political director, and Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, Mr McSweeney’s replacements as acting joint chiefs of staff, addressed around 100 spads, one attendee said.

It comes after the PM faced accusations that Downing Street was being run as a “boys’ club”. The scandals of Peter Mandelson’s close ties with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and ex-No10 communications director Matthew Doyle links to a convicted sex offender have put rocket boosters under lingering complaints about the culture in No10.

While there are a number of women in top roles, one adviser told the Mirror: “You can’t get around the fact that many of the people around Keir were men.”

Over the course of the week, the PM addressed female Labour MPs twice, firstly speaking to a small group in No10 and then appearing at the Women’s Parliamentary Labour Party meeting. One MP with knowledge of the first meeting said the PM was confronted by an MP, who said the problems he faces “started long ago”.

One suggestion put forward in the second meeting was for the PM to appoint a First Secretary of State to clean up the culture. One minister told The Mirror that Lucy Powell, the deputy Labour leader, would be a good option.

“I think Lucy would be a good person to clean up government,” they said. “She did so much when she was Commons leader like changing door handles for disabled people or more women’s toilets. It’s things like that that can help change the culture.”

Mr Starmer is out of immediate danger but he is under intense pressure to show he is listening to his party. And while the PM will have a brief respite over the 10-day recess, he will be tested again in the coming weeks and months.

The release of the files relating to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador is fraught with risk. No10 is liaising with Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) over the disclosure of tens of thousands of documents, which contain potentially embarrassing WhatsApps between senior government officials and ministers with the peer, who is subject to a Metropolitan Police investigation.

The drip-drop of negative headlines will test the PM’s resolve and inevitably distract from the government’s core message on tackling the cost of living.

There will then be two key electoral tests. Voters will head to the polls in the crucial Gorton and Denton by-election in Greater Manchester on February 26, where Labour is battling it out with Reform to hold onto what was once a safe seat.

And on May 7, voters will cast their ballots in elections across Scotland, Wales and England in what many believe will be the Prime Minister’s most dangerous moment.

One left-wing MP said: “He’s saying the right stuff now and he’s energetic but he’s energetic because he’s fighting for his life. He’s surviving because there’s nobody to replace him but without a shadow of a doubt his days are still numbered.”

But others have been mollified by the Prime Minister’s efforts to reach out. One of the Scottish Labour MPs invited for informal drinks with the PM at his Chequers retreat on Thursday described the mood as “better than expected”.

They told The Mirror: “The mood was really good actually – especially among the Scots after a bumpy week. I mean Labour people aren’t the kind of people who get to go to parties in stately homes.

“Keir was very relaxed, very friendly, and making sure everyone had drinks and being quite open about what’s on his mind. It probably helped that people who have been very anti [his] leadership stayed away.”

Another backbencher said: “It let us all remember we don’t hate each other.”