It was a tough week for Kier Starmer, who in trying to put the Peter Mandelson affair behind him nearly ended up losing his own job to angry MPs who believe that it is time to change the head of the Labour party and inject new blood into the leadership to try to reverse their polling position.
Starmer has been facing criticism for his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US in the face of his links to Jeffery Epstein. Despite efforts to mitigate the damage, with the removal of Mandelson from the house of Lords and attempts to strip his title, many in the Labour party believe Starmer has made one mistake too many.
Anwas Sarwar attempted to fire the starting pistol on a race for the PMs job, anticipating many other senior cabinet figures who are suspected of being unhappy with the direction of the Labour party to follow him. However following a late night monday meeting culminating in the forcing out of Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, the PM seems to have saved his position, for now. Using McSweeney as a sacrificial lamb was a wise move, this will appease many in the Labour party who perceived McSweeney as orchestrating many of the big decisions that the Labour Party has gotten wrong in their time in government.
It will be interesting to see how No10 operates without McSweeney, a massive figure who has played a large role in propelling Starmer into power. Many other influential Labour figures may also be quietly anxious of the future, owing their political success to McSweeney.
We may see a split in the Labour party, which week by week only seems to get more fragmented, more nervous, and more ready to tear itself apart.
The traditional two stalwarts of British politics, Labour and the Conservatives, seem to be slowly and persistently shooting themselves in the foot. Whilst Labour still holds a lead over the Greens in many polls, the continued scandal after scandal process will only narrow the gap between the parties. Whilst it may be too late for the conservatives to save themselves from being overtaken by its populist counterpiece, it is not too late for Labour.
Only by stopping the continued leak of scandals will the bleeding be stemmed in the Party. Whilst the sacking of McSweeny may be a good start to achieve this, a complete overhaul of thought needs to take place within No10, and crucially, Starmer needs to demonstrate to his MPs that he is able to reverse the polls. The pressure will only continue to build up against Starmer, who has vowed to continue to fight, but unless he can show to his Party members that he still has the power to achieve electoral victory, like he did with the general election, he will not survive the year.