UK Prime Minister Starmer should quit, Scottish Labour leader says

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar urges Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down as pressure mounts over the Mandelson-Epstein scandal, with top aides resigning amid the controversy.

Reuters

February 9, 2026

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with members of the audience after delivering a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex, in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026

Peter Nicholls/Reuters

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer should resign, Anas Sarwar, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party said on Monday, becoming the most senior Labour politician to publicly oppose Starmer's leadership in the wake of the Mandelson-Epstein scandal.

Starmer is under mounting pressure from within his party over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States. Files released 10 days ago showed the depth of Mandelson's ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The revelations have raised questions over Starmer's judgement, while polls show the prime minister's popularity has tanked just eighteen months after he won a landslide election.

Sarwar and Labour's other Scottish lawmakers are due to face Scottish parliamentary elections in May, which is increasingly seen as a potential watershed moment for Starmer.

"The distraction needs to end, and the leadership in Downing Street has to change," Sarwar told a press conference.

Over the last 24 hours, Starmer's top aide and communications chief have both quit, in an apparent effort to allow the prime minister to draw a line under the Mandelson affair.

-Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, writing by Sarah Young; editing by William James/Reuters

The revelations have raised questions over Starmer's judgement, while polls show the prime minister's popularity has tanked just eighteen months after he won a landslide election.

Sarwar and Labour's other Scottish lawmakers are due to face Scottish parliamentary elections in May, which is increasingly seen as a potential watershed moment for Starmer.

"The distraction needs to end, and the leadership in Downing Street has to change," Sarwar told a press conference.

Over the last 24 hours, Starmer's top aide and communications chief have both quit, in an apparent effort to allow the prime minister to draw a line under the Mandelson affair.

-Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, writing by Sarah Young; editing by William James/Reuters