Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing heightened scrutiny within his own ranks after his decision to name Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington in 2024 provoked a rare bout of open dissent among senior Labour figures.
The controversy deepened when last week additional material emerged detailing Mandelson’s relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations that Mandelson had been willing to leak government business. Those developments have been described within the party as reopening an old and painful issue, and have prompted police attention: Mandelson was sacked by Starmer last September and is currently the subject of a police investigation into alleged misconduct in office.
On Sunday broadcasters pressed Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden about whether Starmer would remain prime minister. McFadden said there was a possibility that Starmer might not continue in the role. "If the Prime Minister stays there, I don’t think that would make any difference at all," he told the BBC, while urging colleagues to back stable leadership and warning against frequent changes in the office of prime minister.
Reports in national newspapers added to the sense of strain in the Labour leadership. The Telegraph, citing friends of Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, said Lammy - who was foreign minister at the time Mandelson was appointed - had warned Starmer against putting Mandelson forward. Separately, the Times reported that Angela Rayner, Starmer’s predecessor as deputy prime minister, has also told friends she cautioned against the nomination.
Those accounts underline the unusual nature of the disagreement: warnings from both the serving deputy prime minister and the prior holder of the same office suggest the pushback was not limited to backbench unease. Prominent party figures have aired concerns about judgment and the implications of the appointment for party credibility.
Within the Labour Party, the episode has been characterised as possibly the most significant test of Starmer’s leadership since he took office 18 months ago. Sources within the party and commentary from ministers indicate the episode has produced a week of damaging headlines and internal strain, even as some ministers counsel unity for the sake of national stability.
As events continue to unfold, the central facts remain: Mandelson was appointed ambassador to Washington for 2024, subsequent revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein emerged last week, Starmer dismissed him in September, and Mandelson is under police investigation. Senior Labour figures have said they warned against the nomination, and a serving minister publicly acknowledged uncertainty about the prime minister’s future.