Bloomberg learned about the threat to Starmer's premiership after the resignation of aides. His office insists he is "optimistic"
Kyiv • UNN
Bloomberg learned that Starmer's premiership is under threat after the resignation of key aides. His office insists he is "optimistic."
The office of the head of the British government on Downing Street insists that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is "optimistic and confident" - after being asked if he would resign today, Sky News reports, writes UNN.
Details
This comes after the resignation of the British Prime Minister's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, yesterday and his fourth communications director in government, Tim Allan, this morning.
When asked by journalists, the official spokesman for the British Prime Minister replied: "No."
"The Prime Minister is focused on the current work," Downing Street said.
"He continues to work on implementing changes across the country," a government spokesman said.
Later, Downing Street said Starmer was "optimistic and confident."
He "remains determined to carry out the current work," the spokesman added.
When asked if Starmer was confident of unanimous cabinet support, they replied: "Yes."
They also refused to say whether Allan had been fired, and what he meant by his resignation statement that he was leaving to "allow a new No. 10 team (the office of the British Prime Minister - ed.) to be created."
When asked if this meant there could be more resignations within this "new team," the spokesman pointed to the appointments of Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson as acting chiefs of staff.
After Starmer said he would not resign, the spokesman was asked how long the British Prime Minister could last.
He replied that Starmer was focused on getting young people into work, as National Learning Week begins today.
He also confirmed that Starmer's statements to staff at 10 Downing Street - about moving "forward" and that "we are confidently continuing to change the country" - came before Allan announced his resignation.
When asked if Allan heard this and then decided to leave his position in the office, the spokesman only insisted that he had not announced his resignation before Starmer's address.
He also dismissed journalists' suggestions that Downing Street was in "chaos" due to the large number of staff who had resigned since July 2024.
Allan was the Prime Minister's fourth communications director, and McSweeney was his second chief of staff.
The spokesman indicated that ministers are actively working today, advocating for economic growth and opportunities.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg writes that Keir Starmer's future is in doubt after the crisis surrounding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, which led to the resignation of the British Prime Minister's closest aide.
According to people familiar with the situation, officials at 10 Downing Street were preparing for cabinet ministers to privately advise the prime minister to resign or threaten to resign themselves. One cabinet minister's aide said Starmer's chances of lasting a week were 50-50.
Starmer had been deliberating for days whether he could continue without McSweeney, a source familiar with the discussions said. The loss of the chief organizer of Labour's triumphant 2024 election victory leaves the prime minister vulnerable at a time when frustrated government officials are demanding change at the highest level, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner named as contenders, Bloomberg writes.
Within Britain's ruling party, the publication writes, some expect Starmer to try to strengthen his position by inviting left-wing figures such as Rayner into the cabinet and promoting people like Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, a former party leader, to senior positions. But others doubt Rayner would accept the job, as she is now one step closer to taking Starmer's place. The only way for him to last until the local elections in May is to be a "lame duck," with his rivals using that time to prepare their challenges, one Labour official said.
As Bloomberg notes, even if Starmer manages to survive the uproar surrounding Mandelson and the demand for his accountability, his position will be at risk in the coming weeks. The immediate point of tension is the February 26 by-election in Gorton and Denton, a constituency that should be a Labour stronghold but where the Greens and Reform UK are now vying for first place. In just over two months, larger local elections will take place, where, according to polls, Labour will lose many seats.
After losing his second chief of staff in just 19 months, Starmer quickly moved to promote McSweeney's former deputies, Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson, to the vacant position. His office said the prime minister was likely to speak on Monday to update the country on his next steps to deliver his party's promised changes in 2024.
In recent days, he has expressed frustration about how the Mandelson crisis is distracting from that agenda. The latest turmoil was sparked by revelations that the former peer apparently passed secret government information to Epstein while a minister more than 15 years ago, the publication writes. Mandelson is also under pressure to return money he received in connection with his dismissal as ambassador.
This situation again called into question Starmer's competence in appointing a man who had twice left government under controversial circumstances and earned the nickname "Prince of Darkness" for his mastery of political manipulation.
One of Starmer's previously loyal supporters said he was waiting for his resignation. According to him, last year's U-turn in social welfare policy was the beginning of the end for the prime minister, demonstrating his weak leadership of the party and lack of conviction in his own project. Another former Starmer supporter said Labour had failed the country by behaving no better than the Conservatives they replaced, despite campaigns to restore decency in politics. On Sunday, controversy erupted when two key groups linked to the Labour Party suggested that responsibility for Mandelson's appointment should not rest solely with the chief of staff.
Rayner is now considered the leading contender for prime minister, but Labour officials predict at least six other candidates are vying for the position, including Miliband, Streeting, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. Several right-wing Labour figures have suggested that Defence Secretary John Healey should take the prime minister's post.