Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar calls on PM to step down

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said Sir Keir Starmer should step down as prime minister telling a press conference the leadership "has to change".

Speaking on Monday afternoon, Sarwar said there had been "many achievements" under the Labour government but voters "can't hear them and can't see them" because "the leadership in Downing Street have become a huge distraction".

He said his announcement was "not easy and not without pain", adding that Sir Keir was a "decent man" but that his "first loyalty" was to Scotland.

In response, No 10 said Sir Keir has "a clear five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change, and that is what he will do".

Sir Keir faces enormous political pressure and is fighting to shore up his position, after his judgement was questioned over the appointment and subsequent sacking of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

Speaking before Sarwar's press conference, the prime minister's official spokesman told reporters he had the unanimous support of the Cabinet, denying reports that Sir Keir had been remorseful and wavering over his political future.

Asked if Sir Keir was going to resign on Monday, the prime minister's official spokesman said: "No."

"He is getting on with the job of delivering change across the country."

As Sarwar held his press conference, a flurry of senior ministers expressed their support for the prime minister, having been quiet for much of the morning.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the public had given "Keir a huge mandate only 18 months ago" adding: "They expect us to get on with the job."

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: "Anas has reached his own decision and I respect that.

"The prime minister has recognised not just that lessons have to be learned but also that we change how we do government. He is right about that and has my support," he added.

Sir Keir is expected to speak to backbenchers at a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) on Monday evening, where the BBC understands he will be repeating an argument he made privately to a group of MPs over dinner at Chequers on Thursday.

He told them he was "as angry and frustrated as you are" because "all of us came into politics to make a difference to people's lives"; and that Lord Mandelson's behaviour is "corrosive" to politics and the idea it can make a difference.

The prime minister has already tasked his team with working up changes to strengthen the appointments process, including tightening up vetting and lobbying rules, with some options for reform under consideration.

Last week, Sarwar said Lord Mandelson should not have been appointed as the UK's ambassador.

Speaking at the press conference, Sarwar said: "The situation in Downing Street is not good enough", adding: "There have been too many mistakes."

"They promised they were going to be different, but too much has happened. Have there been good things? Of course, there have been many of them, but no one knows them and no one can hear them because they're being drowned out - that's why it cannot continue."

He said that with elections taking place in Scotland in three months' time he needed to "decide what I'm willing to accept and what I'm willing to tolerate".

Asked who he wanted to see replace Sir Keir, Sarwar said he was "not supporting or backing any alternative or any candidate".

He said he had spoken to the prime minister ahead of making his concerns public and that "I think it's safe to say he and I disagreed."

Earlier on Monday, Tim Allan became the fourth communications chief to leave Downing Street in less than a year.

In a short statement he said: "I have decided to stand down to allow a new No 10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success."

The departure follows the resignation of McSweeney, who quit on Sunday saying he took "full responsibility" for advising the PM to appoint Lord Mandelson.

Sir Keir sacked the former Labour minister and peer in September, when documents were released showing what appeared to be a close relationship between the disgraced financier Epstein and Lord Mandelson.

The prime minister continues to insist he was lied to by Lord Mandelson about the depth and nature of the relationship.

However, the loss of McSweeney, a man whose advice Sir Keir has relied on since his campaign to become the leader of the Labour party, was already a major blow to his premiership.

Allan's sudden departure, after five months in the job, is a further blow, making it all the more important for Sir Keir to demonstrate to Labour MPs that he has a plan to turn things around.

Sir Keir's first communications chief when the Labour government came to power in July 2024 was Matthew Doyle, who had served in the role in opposition.

Doyle left nine months later, emailing colleagues that it was "time to pass the baton on", and was replaced by Steph Driver and James Lyons, both of whom have since left No 10. Allan started as director of communications in September 2025.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the resignation was "yet another sign that Keir Starmer has lost control of his government".

Speaking to broadcasters she said the prime minister is "in office but not in power" and "completely at the mercy of Labour MPs".

Shortly before Allan resigned, Sir Keir gave a speech to No 10 staff, asking them to help him "prove that politics can be a force for good" through programmes to tackle child poverty, the cost of living crisis, and cutting NHS waiting lists.

Referring to the revelations about Lord Mandelson, he said: "The thing that makes me most angry is the undermining of the belief that politics can be a force for good and can change lives."

Sir Keir told staff he had been "absolutely clear" that he regretted his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson and had apologised to the victims, before paying tribute to McSweeney, who he has worked with for the last eight years.

Thanking a man he referred to as his "friend", he said: "We changed the Labour Party together. We won a general election together. And none of that would have been possible without Morgan McSweeney.

"His dedication, his commitment and his loyalty to our party and our country was second to none."

But the prime minister continues to come under sustained criticism. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier on Monday, Badenoch said: "His position now is untenable, because if he thinks that bad advice is enough for Morgan McSweeney to go, then, yes, I think that makes his position untenable."

Criticism of the Labour leader is also being voiced by Labour backbenchers, including Norwich South MP Clive Lewis, who told Radio 5 Live he didn't believe McSweeney's departure would staunch the wound.

"It's about the whole political culture Keir Starmer has ushered into his administration, which makes proximity to wealth and power the project," he said.

Speaking ahead of Sir Keir addressing the Parliamentary Labour Party, another MP from the left of the party, Andy McDonald, said: "He has got to convince the Parliamentary Labour Party he has got it."

He added: "If he doesn't own the error he has made and recognise the problem in front of him and articulate it and tell us how he is going to deal with it, then I am afraid it is coming to end - if not today then certainly in the weeks and months ahead."

Also speaking ahead of Allan's departure, Baroness Smith of Malvern said the prime minister "accepts that he made the wrong decision" on Lord Mandelson and said she is "sure" the prime minister is not about to step down.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Keir Starmer was responsible for making that decision, which is why as soon as it became clear to him, that the extent and nature of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was far greater and far more pernicious than anybody, in fact, had believed at the point at which he was appointed, he fired him."

Another high profile Labour MP, Dame Emily Thornberry, backed Sir Keir as a "good leader" but said he must "step up a bit more than he has" to ensure clear leadership.

Polly Billington, Labour MP for East Thanet and vice chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party, told the BBC that following the resignations from No 10 she hoped to see "some significant changes in personnel" that would address her concerns about a "boys' club" at the top of government.

"If you surround yourself with a bunch of men, you make bad decisions," she added.

McSweeney's deputies, Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson, have been appointed joint acting chiefs of staff.