Disquiet is growing within Britain’s governing Labour Party over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s handling of revelations surrounding his former US ambassador’s ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, triggering internal discussions about a possible leadership change.
The crisis deepened on Sunday with the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, Mr Starmer’s chief of staff, who said he bore “full responsibility” for advising the Prime Minister to appoint Peter Mandelson.
“When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice,” Mr McSweeney said in a statement.
“In public life, responsibility must be owned when it matters most, not just when it is most convenient.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Under Pressure
Even before the Peter Mandelson revelation, Keir Starmer was facing mounting pressure over errors of judgment that had begun to erode confidence among Labour MPs.
Mandelson has now become a focal point of wider concerns about governance and oversight within the Prime Minister’s inner circle.
Will Keir Starmer Resign As UK Prime Minister?
McSweeney’s resignation has amplified calls from within Labour for a leadership challenge, particularly as the party seeks to reset after its landslide election victory in July 2024.
While no challenger has formally emerged, Westminster is awash with speculation that potential contenders are prepared to move swiftly should Starmer’s leadership be deemed irreparably damaged.
Under Labour’s rule book, any leadership contender must be a sitting MP and secure nominations from at least 20% of Labour members in the House of Commons. That threshold currently stands at 81 MPs, significantly higher than the 15% required by the Conservatives to trigger a confidence vote against their own leaders.
Potential Successors To Keir Starmer: Could Shabana Mahmood Be The Next UK PM?
Attention has increasingly turned to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, whose steady rise has not gone unnoticed within government.
Shabana Mahmood is the first Muslim woman to serve as Home Secretary. She won her seat in 2024 after defeating a fervent pro-Gaza activist in Birmingham.
Born in Birmingham in 1980 to parents from Pakistan, she spent part of her childhood in Saudi Arabia before returning to the UK to study law at Oxford University.
Social media is awash with rumours that Shabana Mahmood could be the next UK Prime Minister if Keir Starmer resigns.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
