Closing summary
Keir Starmer has faced down immediate calls for his resignation after receiving the full backing of his cabinet and delivering an impassioned appeal to the PLP this evening that appears to have steadied the government’s ship, at least for now.
With his position in peril over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, Starmer’s leadership was then plunged into further tumult with the resignation of his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney over the affair. But despite an intervention from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and calls from most opposition leaders for him to go, Starmer appears to have done just enough, as he told a crucial meeting of more than 400 Labour MPs and peers that he was “not prepared to walk away” from his mandate and plunge the country into further chaos. The PM pledged to change his Downing Street operation and to fight any challenge that came his way, warning his rivals: “I have won every fight I’ve ever been in.”
Many at the meeting said the PM had succeeded in shifting the narrative after coming out fighting, taking accountability for mistakes that have been made, and pledging to mend relations with MPs. He also stressed that Labour needed to take the fight to Reform UK, which he described as “the fight of our times”. But others warned that Starmer has emerged damaged and was “not out of the woods yet”.
After 24 hours of high drama, tonight Starmer did enough to bring himself back from the brink, but whether it’s enough to unify the party around his leadership – with rivals quietly jockeying for position – long term remains to be seen. For now, he’s surviving but most definitely not thriving.
Angela Rayner threw her weight behind the prime minister, bringing a halt to a potential coup, minutes after the Guardian revealed an unfinished website claiming to launch her leadership campaign was temporarily published.
Wes Streeting published private WhatsApp messages with Mandelson – including ones which questioned Starmer’s communications skills and the government’s growth plan – in an effort to draw a line under his relationship with the disgraced peer and protect future political ambitions.
Tim Allan, Starmer’s director of communications, also quit after only five months in the job, to “allow a new No 10 team to be built”, leaving the prime minister looking for his fifth communications chief since he took office.
Chris Wormald, the UK’s most senior civil servant, is negotiating his exit from the role as part of a broader shake-up of Downing Street, the Guardian learned, adding to the sense of turmoil at the top of government.
Labour insiders fear that McSweeney’s departure leaves the prime minister dangerously exposed as he heads towards a series of policy and electoral challenges – including the Gorton and Denton byelection later this month – that could determine his political future.
Updated
Davey says there must be a general election 'if Labour MPs don't sort themselves out'
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey – who notably didn’t call for Keir Starmer’s resignation today like other opposition parties, though he did call for a no confidence vote in parliament last week – has said there must be a general election if Labour MPs do not “sort themselves out”.
Davey told broadcasters earlier:
Labour were elected to bring change to the country and to end the chaos we saw under the Conservatives. But Keir Starmer has failed to deliver, and we still have this daily soap opera. And it’s damaging the country.
Labour MPs have either got to sort this out among themselves, or there is going to have to be a general election.
