Sir Keir Starmer should step down as prime minister, the leader of the Scottish Labour has demanded. Angry Anas Sarwar said the situation in Downing Street is “not good enough” and said the “leadership has to change.”
He told a hastily arranged press conference: “This isn’t easy and it’s not without pain as I have a genuine friendship with Keir Starmer. But my first loyalty is to my country, Scotland. The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change.
“It is so obvious that we desperately need change in Scotland and in three months time the opportunity to get rid of a failing SNP government is one that is too important to be missed.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“We cannot allow the failures at the heart of Downing Street to mean the failures continue here in Scotland, because the election in May is not without consequence for the lives of Scots.
“The situation in Downing Street is not good enough. 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 is why it cannot continue.”
(Image: PA)
It comes after the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications chief Tim Allan both quit in the wake of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal, plunging Downing Street into turmoil.
McSweeney admitted he advised Sir Keir to appoint Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US and that decision “was wrong”. But the PM was warned his “sacrificial lamb” will not save him as pressure continued to mount on Monday.
Mandelson was appointed to Washington despite Downing Street knowing he stayed friends with Epstein following his child sex conviction in the US.
But fresh revelations about the pair’s relationship have triggered a criminal investigation and plunged Sir Keir into the worst crisis of his premiership. Following McSweeney’s resignation the PM said it had been “an “honour” working with him for “many years”.
Mr Sarwar added: “The people of this great country, Scotland, are crying out for competent government, for transparency, for honesty and for delivery.
“They want to see politics that is open and accountable. They want to see leaders who put the national interest before themselves. That is the standard I will always apply.
“In three months, we have an election that must be about one thing and one thing only, Scotland. That is my duty, that is my priority, that is my loyalty, and that is Scotland’s choice.”
Just before Sarwar spoke, deputy PM David Lammy has called for MPs to “support the prime minister” minutes before Labour’s Scottish leader is expected to call on Keir Starmer to stand down.
In a message on X, the deputy prime minister says: “Keir Starmer won a massive mandate 18 months ago, for five years to deliver on Labour’s manifesto that we all stood on.
“We should let nothing distract us from our mission to change Britain and we support the Prime Minister in doing that.”
Downing Street insisted on Monday that Sir Keir would not resign and was “concentrating on the job in hand”.
He is due to face Labour MPs later on Monday amid anger over his appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite knowing that the peer’s links with Jeffrey Epstein continued after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences.
Labour has 37 MPs in Scotland who will now face having to decide whether to back Mr Sarwar or stay loyal to Sir Keir. Asked if Sir Keir was going to resign today, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “No.”
He added: “The Prime Minister is concentrating on the job in hand. He is getting on with the job of delivering change across the country.”
Responding to Mr Sarwar’s calls for the PM to step down, a Downing Street spokesman said: “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.”
And chancellor Rachel Reeves backed Sir Keir Starmer, saying: “With Keir as our Prime Minister we are turning the country around.”
This is a breaking news story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly with the latest news, pictures and videos.
You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters.
Get all the very best headlines, pictures, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following Daily Star every time you see our name.
Follow Daily Star on Android – CLICK HERE
Follow Daily Star on Apple – CLICK HERE
Follow Daily Star on Snapchat – CLICK HERE
You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @starbreaksnews and follow us @dailystar for all the latest updates.
Keep up-to-date with your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/thedailystar.