UK’s Starmer battles to keep his job
LONDON—British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a battle to stay in post after the fallout from his decision in 2024 to appoint veteran politician Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the United States despite the latter’s ties to the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer’s judgment is in the spotlight like never before, especially after the release of millions of Epstein-related documents by the US justice department last week, whichshowed how close those links were.
There’s widespread anger that the prime minister appointed Mandelson, a grandee of Starmer’s own Labour Party, to such a sensitive and high-profile post. Starmer had already sacked Mandelson after a first batch of emails was published in September, showing he remained friends with Epstein after the late financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor.
Apology over pol’s lies
But the emails made public this week show that Mandelson, as a member of the then Labour Cabinet, also passed on sensitive—and potentially market-moving—government information in 2009 to the disgraced financier.
Starmer’s leadership has now been called into question. Several Labour lawmakers have said that he should quit, while others are clearly uncomfortable, following a series of missteps since the party returned to power in a landslide victory in July 2024.
Starmer is trying to fight back. He has apologized to the British public and to the victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking for believing what he has termed “Mandelson’s lies.”
There are a number of ways in which Starmer could go, some more straightforward than others.
Ways of quitting
The simplest option is that Starmer announces his intention to resign, triggering an election for the Labour leadership. A resignation could possibly come if a delegation of Cabinet members tell Starmer he has lost too much support within the party or if members of his government quit in protest.
Those considered to harbor leadership ambitions include Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Home Secretary Shabana Mahood and former deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who had to resign last year after admitting she didn’t pay enough tax on a house purchase. The problem for Rayner is that an investigation into that is ongoing.
No front-runner
But there’s no clear front-runner.
Andy Burnham, the popular mayor of Manchester who was blocked from standing at a special election in the city later this month, would not be eligible as the leader must come from the parliamentary party.
