Keir Starmer has vowed he “will not give up on the fight” to help struggling Brits after being forced into a battle for his political survival.
The Prime Minister will this week seek to get back to the day job after his authority was rocked by the Peter Mandelson scandal and bombshell calls for him to quit by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
In a deeply personal article in the Mirror, the Prime Minister spoke about how the struggles of his brother Nick, who died in 2024 aged 60, is part of what drives him. The PM has previously spoken about his protectiveness towards his younger brother, who developed learning difficulties after complications during his birth.
Mr Starmer said: “We all know someone the system did not work for. For me, it was my brother. He had difficulties learning when he was growing up. He spent much of his life drifting from job to job in real hardship. The system didn’t work for him.
“There are millions in the same boat. Held back by a system that doesn’t work for them.
“Children in poverty who can’t fulfil their potential. Young people without the opportunities they deserve. Families who work hard but still struggle. I’m fighting for them.
“I am their Prime Minister, this is their government, and I will not give up on my fight for them.”
It comes after Mr Starmer endured the worst week of his premiership, with his Cabinet rallying round him after Mr Sarwar called for him to go.
But the toxic fallout continues from his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador despite his ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Government insiders are braced for the publication of tens of thousands of documents relating to the Labour grandee’s appointment, which include potentially explosive messages between Lord Mandelson, ministers and senior officials.
Police have launched a criminal investigation into claims the peer passed sensitive documents to Epstein while serving in Gordon Brown’s government.
The PM has also come under fire for handing his ex-spin chief Matthew Doyle a seat in the House of Lords despite his support for a councillor who had been convicted of child sex offences.
Mr Starmer has vowed to clean up politics – and is expected to bring forward legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage.
He is also seeking to overhaul his No10 operation amid accusations from senior Labour women that it was dominated by a “boy’s club” culture.
Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, director of communications Tim Allan and Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald all stood down last week.
On Sunday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was “angry” about Lord Mandelson’s appointment. Asked if there was a “boy’s club”, she told the BBC: “You and I have seen different examples through the years of Westminster boys’ culture at different times. And we can’t go back to that.
“I feel really quite angry about some of the issues that we’ve had around. Look, Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed.
“We’ve had debates in Westminster but actually the real focus should be on [Jeffrey] Epstein’s victims, and also the work that this Labour government has been doing to tackle violence against women and girls.”