Summary
Keir Starmer and the Labour party continue to fight to maintain control in the aftermath of the Mandelson controversy. Starmer spoke to the Sunday Times about how he believed that the vast majority of Labour still supports him and that his party can still win in May.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, took to the morning shows to defend Starmer and Labour, noting that in his work abroad and campaigning around the country, Mandelson is rarely mentioned and that particularly during a town hall yesterday with constituents, “Peter Mandelson didn’t come up once”. “People are more worried about the impact of the Middle East on their energy bills,” Jones said.
Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said that if Starmer doesn’t resign, “Labour backbenchers and ministers should develop a backbone and get rid of him”.
SNP also called for Starmer’s resignation on Sunday in response to a Daily Mail story quoting Labour insiders as saying that the prime minister was considering sacking chancellor Rachel Reeves. “Keir Starmer is living on another planet if he thinks he can save his skin by sacking everyone else,” said Kirsty Blackman, SNP chief whip.
SNP calls for Starmer resignation in response to Daily Mail story
Kirsty Blackman, SNP chief whip, responded on Sunday to a Daily Mail story quoting unnamed Labour insiders as saying that Keir Starmer is considering firing chancellor Rachel Reeves in a cabinet reshuffle in the aftermath of the Mandelson scandal.
“This reeks of desperation,” Blackman said in a statement. “Rachel Reeves has been a disaster as chancellor but Keir Starmer is living on another planet if he thinks he can save his skin by sacking everyone else.”
Blackman criticised the Labour party for being “completed distracted” by Mandelson “at a time when families need a government that is fully-focused on the cost of living emergency”.
“That is entirely on Keir Starmer. He has fatally damaged public trust in the Labour government and is now throwing everyone under the bus instead of taking responsibility himself,” Blackman said. “If Starmer won’t do the decent thing and quit, people in Scotland can show him the door by voting SNP on 7 May to sack Keir Starmer and secure a fresh start with independence.”
