Cabinet ministers rallied to Keir Starmer’s defence on Monday after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar broke ranks to call for the Prime Minister to stand down
Keir Starmer has declared he would not walk away after a tumultuous day left him battling to rescue his premiership.
In an impassioned speech to MPs, the defiant Prime Minister said he had won every fight he had ever been in and vowed to battle Nigel Farage’s divisive politics “as long as I’ve got breath in my body”. He told a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party: “I have won every fight I’ve ever been in.
“I fought to change the Crown Prosecution Service so it better served victims of violence against women and girls. I fought to change the Labour Party to allow us to win an election again. People told me I couldn’t do it. And then they gradually said, you might just get over the line.We won with a landslide majority. Every fight I’ve been in, I have won.”
Cabinet ministers rallied to the PM’s defence on Monday after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar broke ranks to call for him to stand down. Mr Starmer’s position appeared perilous as Mr Sarwar became the most senior figure yet to demand his resignation as the Peter Mandelson scandal threatens to engulf the Government.
Speaking at a hastily arranged press conference, Mr Sarwar said: “The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street needs to change.” The Scottish Labour leader, who is facing a tough set of Holyrood elections in May, added: “The situation in Downing Street is not good enough.
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“There have been too many mistakes. They promised they were going to be different, but too much has happened. Have there been good things? Of course, there have, many of them, but no one knows them and no one can hear them because they’re being drowned out. That’s why it cannot continue.”
Mr Sarwar’s decision to go public came as a body blow to the Prime Minister, who has been left reeling by the departure of two top aides less than 24 hours apart. No10 chief-of-staff Morgan McSweeney, the architect of Mr Starmer’s rise to power, quit on Sunday, followed by director of communications, Tim Allan, on Monday morning.
But he was thrown a lifeline by his top team after hours of ominous silence, with the whole Cabinet lining up to back him shortly after Mr Sarwar’s intervention. In a clearly co-ordinate push, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was the first out of the blocks, saying: “We should let nothing distract us from our mission to change Britain and we support the Prime Minister in doing that.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “With Keir as our Prime Minister we are turning the country around.” Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “At this crucial time for the world, we need his leadership not just at home but on the global stage.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said Mr Sarwar was “wrong”, while chief whip Jonathan Reynolds said: “Resorting to infighting now does not serve the country.” Health Secretary Wes Streeting, seen as a potential leadership rival, also rowed in behind him, urging MPs to “Give Keir a chance.”
Angela Rayner, another possible successor, said: “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.” A senior Labour source told the Mirror: “Currently looks like Anas has gone over the top by himself.”
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But allies of Mr Sarwar hit back, saying: “This isn’t about Westminster, this is about Scotland. It’s really hard to talk about the NHS or anything else because on the doors the PM keeps coming up.” Downing Street came out fighting, saying: “Keir Starmer is one of only four Labour leaders ever to have won a general election. He has a clear five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change, and that is what he will do.”
The PM’s spokesman said Mr Starmer was “upbeat” and “confident” in an address to Downing Street staff on Monday morning. Mr Starmer told his team: “The thing that makes me most angry is the undermining of the belief that politics can be a force for good and can change lives.
“I have been absolutely clear that I regret the decision that I made to appoint Peter Mandelson. And I’ve apologised to the victims which is the right thing to do.” He also made clear he had no intention of quitting, telling advisers: “We must prove that politics can be a force for good. I believe it can. I believe it is. We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.”
As tensions ratcheted up, Ms Rayner’s allies claimed there had been a “a crass false flag operation” designed to undermine her after a report emerged that a leadership campaign website in her name went live in January. Her team said the site was fake and she was seeking legal advice over the use of her name and image.
The ally added: “Accidentally switching on a site full of pastiche content for 20 minutes? Pull the other one. These sort of by-the-playbook dirty tricks would be laughable if this wasn’t so serious.”
It comes after days of turmoil over the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador in Washington despite his friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Police raided two of Mandelson’s homes last week as part of an investigation into allegations he leaked sensitive information to the financier while he was Business Secretary in Gordon Brown ’s Government.