Anas Sarwar calling on Starmer to resign came as a fresh bresh blow to the embattled Prime Minister after a second key ally quit
Anas Sarwar calling on Starmer to resign came as a fresh bresh blow to the embattled Prime Minister after a second key ally quit
The embattled Prime Minister addressed the party MPs and peers at a meeting in Parliament as he fights for his political survival.
He told them: “I have won every fight I’ve ever been in” and “I’m not prepared to walk away”.
Mr Sarwar made the call at an emergency news conference in Glasgow on Monday afternoon.
This lunchtime No10 said Sir Keir will not resign and will be “concentrating on the job at hand”, amid the fallout of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.
Senior Cabinet figures rallied around the embattled Prime Minister, while Angela Rayner, who has been talked of as a successor should he go, also gave her support.
The mounting pressure on the PM came after a second key aide of Starmer, communications chief Tim Allan, quit on Monday morning, just a day after the resignation of Morgan McSweeney.
A spokesperson for the PM insisted that Sir Keir was “upbeat” and “confident”, despite his premiership being plunged into unprecedented crisis.
Continued revelations from the Epstein files has piled pressure on No10, with growing anger among Labour MPs around the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US.
The Prime Minister is expected to address a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party later on Monday amid anger over his appointment of Lord Mandelson, despite knowing that his links with Jeffrey Epstein continued after the financier's conviction for child sex offences.
Follow the latest updates below…
William and Kate ‘deeply concerned’ about Andrew's Epstein links as royals address scandal for first time Morgan McSweeney resigns as Starmer’s chief of staff following Mandelson controversy Andrew shared confidential trade information with Epstein while envoy, files indicate Live updates
15 minutes agoLabour MP says Starmer has squashed 'any challenge against his leadership'Karl Turner, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, has commended Keir Starmer’s speech at the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting this evening.
Writing on X, Turner wrote: “PM was at his best tonight. Reflective. Apologetic. But strong.
He went on to say the Prime Minister has effectively squashed “any challenge against his leadership”.
“Came out fighting. Put to bed any idea of any challenge against his leadership”, he wrote.
Karl Turner shared his support of Sir Keir Starmer on X tonightPA Archive 28 minutes agoWes Streeting insists he supports StarmerWes Streeting has said he supports Sir Keir Starmer remaining Prime Minister.
The health secretary faced questions about his support of the leader as he left the Parliamentary Labour Party, to which he responded, “Of course I do.”
Just an hour before the meeting, Streeting’s spokesman had accused Downing Street of briefing against him. He squarely rejected accusations of being involved in the speech, delivered by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, calling for Starmer to resign.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says ‘of course’ he supports StarmerPA Wire 33 minutes agoRachel Reeves says government will learn from 'mistakes'Rachel Reeves says the government has made “mistakes” but promises that “lessons will be learnt”.
The Chancellor praised the Prime Minister for delivering an “excellent” speech to Labour MPs, following days of chaos at Number 10.
“Everyone said, Keir is a man of great integrity, and he is the person with a mandate to deliver the change that all of our constituents want to see,” she said.
“The last few days have been very, very difficult for the country, most importantly for the victims of Epstein, difficult for the party.
“Mistakes have been made, but lessons will be learnt.”
The Chancellor has spoken out in support of the Prime Minister after the latest Epstein revelations threatened to destabilise the partyPA Wire 1 hour agoStarmer urges Labour MPs to unite in fight against Reform UKSir Keir Starmer urged Labour MPs and peers to unite in the fight against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
He described the battle with Reform as the “fight of our lives, the fight of our times”.
He added: “It goes to the heart and soul of who we are as a party, as a government, and as a country, what it is to be British… And if they ever get in, they will divide, divide, divide. And it will tear this beautiful country apart. That is the fight of our times.”
Sir Keir told the packed committee room in the House of Commons: “As long as I have breath in my body, I’ll be in that fight, on behalf of the country that I love and I believe in, against those that want to tear it up.
“That is my fight, that is all of our fight, and we’re in this together.”
1 hour agoStarmer: 'I'm not prepared to walk away'More from Keir Starmer’s speech to Labour MPs.
He said: “I have had my detractors every step along the way, and I’ve got them now. Detractors that don’t want a Labour government at all, and certainly not one to succeed.
“But I’ll tell you this, after having fought so hard for the chance to change our country, I’m not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country, or to plunge us into chaos, as others have done.”
1 hour agoStarmer says 'I have won every fight I’ve ever been in'We are starting to get details of what Starmer told Labour MPs in his crunch meeting with them in Parliament this evening.
According to the Press Association, he is said to have told them: “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.”
1 hour agoReeves says Starmer’s address to Labour MPs was 'excellent'Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Sir Keir Starmer’s address to Labour MPs was “excellent” but acknowledged it had been a “very difficult” period following the revelations about Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein.
She said: “Everyone said, Keir is a man of great integrity and he is the person with a mandate to deliver the change that all of our constituents want to see.
“The last few days have been very, very difficult for the country, most importantly for the victims of Epstein, difficult for the party.
“Mistakes have been made but lessons will be learned.”
1 hour agoLisa Nandy says Keir Starmer has full backing of Labour PartyCulture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said Keir Starmer has the full backing of the Labour Party.
She spoke to the BBC after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to step down as PM.
"Respectfully, I strongly disagree with Anas," Ms Nandy told the broadcaster.
She said Starmer "made a mistake" in appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador - a mistake he is "right to have owned up to" and apologised for.
"We will go out and do the job that we were elected to do…we are all fully behind the prime minister," she added.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy during a visit to the Barbican theatre in central London (Yui Mok/PA)PA Wire 2 hours agoFormer boss of Homes England joins Reform UKSimon Dudley, the former boss of Homes England has revealed he is joining Reform UK.
This comes as Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK announced he was working on bringing more “experts” on board to advise the party.
Dudley, who previously held positions at HSBC, said “For too long, the two main parties have failed to deliver housing for Brits.”
“They’ve pursued a disastrous combination of extreme levels of immigration with a severe lack of new good quality homes.”
Simon Dudley is part of Mr Farage’s new cohort of ‘experts’ advising the partyPA 2 hours agoStarmer met with applause at meeting of the Parliamentary Labour PartySir Keir Starmer has been met with applause as he arrived at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
He was greeted by a standing ovation, as MPs have rallied in support of the prime minister, the BBC reported.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has faced calls to step down todayPA WireLatest updatesOlder updatesMORE ABOUT
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