While focusing on a larger fight against right-wing politics, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has reaffirmed his commitment to his electoral mandate, saying he will “never walk away” from fighting for the British people in the face of recent internal Labour Party challenges.
Despite the fact that it was only Tuesday, Starmer lightened the mood at a gathering in Hertfordshire on Tuesday by joking, “It’s been a busy week,” in his first on-camera remarks after a turbulent day.
“What matters most is the cost of living, actually paying the bills, getting through, improving living standards, and public services that work,” he said, highlighting priorities for regular people regardless of global events. These are the things that people really care about.
Starmer criticized suggestions that the Labour government should engage in internal conflicts, saying: “There are some people in recent days who say the Labour government should have a different fight, a fight with itself, instead of a fight for the millions of people who need us to fight for them.”
He went on to pledge his unwavering commitment, saying, “I tell them that I will never abandon the mission I was given to transform this nation. I will never walk away from the people who I’m charged with fighting for, and I will never walk away from the country that I love.”
Turning his attention outward, the Prime Minister attacked Reform UK, describing it as emblematic of divisive right-wing politics. “I want to serve every single part of that country, the country that I love,” he said. “But the fight coming up in politics, the real fight is not in the Labour Party. It’s with the right-wing politics that challenges that. The politics of Reform, the politics of divide, divide, divide… Grievance, grievance, grievance that will tear our country apart. We are engaged in that battle. And I will be in that fight as long as I have breath in my body.”
Amid the fallout from Epstein, Starmer says the UK government is “united” and continues.
Starmer sought to move on Tuesday from speculation about his future after fending off serious calls to resign over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
After a dramatic day, the Labour leader assured a gathering of government ministers that they were “strong and united” after promising not to resign from office just 19 months into a five-year term.
When Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar sought Starmer’s resignation on Monday for hiring Peter Mandelson as US ambassador while knowing that Mandelson had retained ties to convicted sex offender Epstein, Starmer’s job appeared to be in jeopardy.
Government ministers have since launched a rearguard action to shore up Starmer’s support, quelling the likelihood of a mutiny for now.
The prime minister expressed gratitude to the political cabinet for their backing. He said they were strong and united,” according to a readout of the meeting provided by Downing Street.
Starmer told ministers his government “would continue its relentless focus on the priorities of the British people, including tackling the cost of living”, the statement added.
The fallout from Mandelson’s brief seven-month tenure in Washington has become the most serious crisis of Starmer’s rule, leading to questions about his judgement and political nous.
It has infuriated Labour MPs who are already upset that the center-left party is lagging behind the hard-right Reform UK party in polls ahead of the local elections.
Starmer’s credibility has been damaged by a number of policy U-turns, and he has had two chiefs of staff and four chiefs of communications.
On Sunday, the architect of his political project, Morgan McSweeney, resigned for advising Starmer to make the contentious Mandelson appointment.
After replacing leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2020, McSweeney helped Starmer bring the Labour Party back to the center, and his departure means that Starmer will no longer have that support.
Police investigation
Then on Monday, he lost his second top aide in two days when communications chief Tim Allan quit just months into the role.
Sarwar, who is facing difficult elections in Scotland in May, became the most senior Labour figure to call for Starmer to step down, saying the “distraction needs to end”.
But in a coordinated show of support, senior Labour figures, including potential rivals for the leadership Angela Rayner and Shabana Mahmood threw their backing behind Starmer.
On Tuesday, Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan added his support for the prime minister.
Starmer sacked Mandelson in September last year after documents published by the US Congress revealed the extent of the Labour veteran’s relationship with Epstein following the financier’s conviction for soliciting a minor in 2008.
In 2019, while awaiting a fresh trial for sex trafficking, Epstein committed suicide in prison.
Documents released on January 30 by the US government appeared to show that Mandelson leaked confidential UK government information to Epstein when he was a British minister, including during the 2008 financial crisis.
Police are investigating Mandelson, 72, for misconduct in public office and have raided two of his properties. He has not been arrested.
Mandelson was accused by Starmer of lying about the depth of his connections to the financier during the screening process for his appointment to Washington, and Starmer has expressed regret to Epstein’s victims.
Tens of thousands of emails, messages, and documents pertaining to Mandelson’s appointment will be made public by the government, which may put more pressure on the prime minister and other top ministers.
Party regulations make it tough to mount a competition, and there isn’t an obvious successor to Starmer yet.
Prior to municipal elections in May, he must contend with a significant by-election on February 26 that may also affect how long he remains in office.
