Cornered by revelations about the case of American financier Jeffrey Epstein that shake his government, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, said this Tuesday (10) that he will not resign from his position.
According to information from the BBC, the Labor prime minister spoke about the subject in a speech at an event on the cost of living in Hertfordshire.
“In recent days, some people have been saying that this Labor government should be fighting a different fight, an internal fight, instead of fighting for the millions of people who need us to fight for them,” said Starmer, citing the internal election that would take place in the Labor Party to choose his successor as leader of the party (and, consequently, British Prime Minister) if he resigns.
“And I tell you: I will never abandon the mandate given to me to change this country. I will never abandon the people I have a responsibility to fight for and I will never abandon the country I love,” said the prime minister.
On two consecutive days, Sunday (8) and Monday (9), Starmer lost two names from his management: his chief of staff and main advisor, Morgan McSweeney, and his Communications director, Tim Allan, resigned.
McSweeney admitted that he had recommended the February 2025 appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the United States. Mandelson was removed from office in September following the revelation of the extent of his ties to Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
Allan claimed on Monday that he was leaving his position “to allow a new team to be built at Downing Street”, in reference to the London street where the British Prime Minister’s official residence is located.
Last week, Starmer admitted that he was aware of Mandelson’s ties to Epstein when he nominated him for the diplomatic post in Washington, but claimed that the ally “lied” about the “extent” of that relationship.
Despite McSweeney’s resignation, the opposition and even allies of the Prime Minister, such as Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labor Party, are calling for the resignation of Starmer, who has been in office since 2024.
According to a survey released by the YouGov institute in January, only 18% of Britons had a favorable opinion of Starmer, while 75% had an unfavorable view of the prime minister.
Labour’s net approval rating, at -57, was the most negative for a British prime minister since his predecessor, the conservative Rishi Sunak, reached the same level in June 2024.
