British PM Starmer vows to fight for his job after furor about former ambassador’s Epstein ties

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed Monday to fight for his job as a growing chorus of voices across Britain’s political spectrum called for the Labor Party leader to resign amid mounting controversy over his close political ties to Peter Mandelson.

Mr. Mandelson, now known as Lord Mandelson, was a senior Labor Party figure whose name appears in documents released in connection with investigations into convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, released this month by the Justice Department.

At issue is not only Mr. Mandelson’s appearance in the so-called Epstein files but also Mr. Starmer’s appointment of him in 2024 as ambassador to the United States, placing him at the center of Britain’s most important diplomatic relationship with its longtime ally.

Some lawmakers in Mr. Starmer’s own center-left party have called on him to resign, including the leader of the Labor Party in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, who said Monday, “There have been too many mistakes” and “the leadership in Downing Street has to change.”

But Mr. Starmer told lawmakers he will not step down. “Every fight I have ever been in, I’ve won,” he said. “I’m not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country.”

The Independent, a British newspaper, reported that Welsh Labor leader Eluned Morgan, another ally of the prime minister, also would call for Mr. Starmer’s resignation. With Labor trailing in the polls ahead of elections scheduled for May 7, party members told The Washington Times that such posturing may be tactical. 

“The intervention from Anas Sarwar is of colossal significance — the most senior Labour figure yet, by some margin, to call for Starmer to go,” BBC political editor Chris Mason said in a post on the outlet’s website. “It is now prompting a stream of cabinet ministers to go on social media and stand up for the prime minister — after rather a while with a lot of them remaining publicly silent.”

Documents released as part of the Epstein files suggest that Mr. Mandelson lobbied the British government to change tax policy on bankers’ bonuses in 2009 at Mr. Epstein’s behest. At the time, Mr. Mandelson was a member of the British Parliament.

Mr. Epstein previously sent Mr. Mandelson the equivalent of $75,000, according to documents released by the Justice Department as part of a general release of millions of records tied to the investigation into Mr. Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019.

Mr. Mandelson has said he has “no record or recollection” of the payments in 2003 and 2004.

The Economist has called the Mandelson affair Britain’s worst political scandal of this century. Mr. Mandelson resigned his Labor Party membership on Feb. 1 under pressure from the party.

Mr. Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned his post over the weekend, followed Monday by the prime minister’s director of communications, Tim Allan.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and other members of Mr. Starmer’s Cabinet have sought to quell such calls and have expressed public support for the prime minister to complete his five-year term.

After 14 years in the political wilderness, the Labor Party returned to power after a July 2024 general election victory. The election also signaled further fragmentation of the British electorate, with the populist right-wing Reform Party entering Parliament for the first time. Meanwhile, far-left opponents of Mr. Starmer, including former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, entered Parliament as independents. The far left of the British Labor Party continues to be referred to as “Corbynites.”

“The Labor right wing epitomizes everything that is wrong with a system built on patronage and revolving-door lobbying interests,” Claudia Webbe, a longtime supporter of Mr. Corbyn, said in an interview with The Washington Times. “The Mandelson debacle demonstrates this precisely, and it is therefore right for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign.”

Ms. Webb served as a member of Parliament from 2019 to 2024, first as a Labor Party member and later as an independent.

A senior Labor member of Parliament, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity, said Mr. Starmer was unlikely to be forced to resign over his ties to Mr. Mandelson.

“There is clearly broad concern about his ties to Lord Mandelson, but for the Labor Party generally, his resignation would be a nightmare with important elections looming in May,” the lawmaker said. “After May, though, the knives from within the party will be out for him.”

Any replacement of Mr. Starmer from within the Labor Party would likely come from further to the political left, a prospect that has rattled financial markets.

The yield on 10-year British government debt rose 0.07 percentage points to 4.597%, matching a 2½-month high set last week. The yield on 30-year bonds also increased. The British pound dropped by roughly half a euro cent against the euro but was trading slightly higher against the U.S. dollar Monday.

While no clear front-runner has emerged, speculation about who might succeed Mr. Starmer includes Health Secretary Wes Streeting, 43; former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, 45; and former Cabinet minister Andy Burnham, the popular, center-left Greater Manchester mayor.

Mr. Streeter is widely regarded as a polished communicator and has been an outspoken government voice on issues including the war in Gaza.

Ms. Rayner has long set herself apart as a different kind of politician — she never went to college, was brought up in social housing and left school at 16 as a teen mother. She was active in trade unions before she was elected a lawmaker in 2015. She soon rose to Labor’s senior ranks when the party was in opposition and was elected deputy leader in 2020.

Mr. Burnham, 56, has served in a Labor government previously, including as culture secretary and health secretary.

• This article is based in part on wire-service reports.