Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has called on Keir Starmer to stand down, throwing the prime minister's leadership into serious peril. At a hastily arranged press conference in Glasgow, Sarwar said: 'The distraction needs to end, and the leadership in Downing Street has to change.'
Sarwar argued there had been 'too many mistakes' by No 10 since Starmer came to power, and that while the prime minister was a 'decent man', he was undermining Labour's ability to win the Scottish parliament elections in May. Recent opinion polls show Labour trailing in third place behind the Scottish National party and Reform. Sarwar and his advisers calculated it would be impossible for Starmer to recover after the scandal over Peter Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The call for Starmer to go comes after the resignation of his closest adviser, Morgan McSweeney, amid anger over the Mandelson appointment. Senior Labour sources said McSweeney's departure had left the prime minister dangerously exposed ahead of electoral challenges including the Scottish elections. Sarwar revealed he told Starmer earlier in the day of his planned call and that 'it's fair to say, we didn't agree'.
Sarwar stated his first priority was Scotland and that he did not want to sacrifice the country to a third decade of an SNP government. He emphasised: 'We cannot allow the failures at the heart of Downing Street to mean the failures continue here in Scotland.'
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was the first cabinet minister to publicly back Starmer, posting: 'Keir Starmer won a massive mandate 18 months ago... we support the prime minister.' Other cabinet ministers including Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper, John Healey, and Wes Streeting rallied round, though support from some was muted. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said he respected Sarwar's decision. Some Scottish Labour MPs reacted negatively, with one telling the Guardian: 'Anas does not speak for us all.'
