Dozens of Labour Party lawmakers called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign on Monday, effectively rejecting their leader’s efforts to quell a mutiny in the party ranks and raising the likelihood of a bruising leadership battle.
Mr. Starmer began the day with a speech he hoped would quiet the brewing rebellion, acknowledging the anger expressed by voters last week when they overwhelmingly rejected Labour Party candidates in elections across England, Scotland and Wales.
The results in England, Scotland and Wales have piled pressure on Sir Keir, with some Labour MPs calling for him to set a timetable for his departure, although his cabinet allies have backed him for now.
Labour has lost power in Wales, ending its 27 year-long rule, while the SNP appears likely to remain the largest party in Scotland.
Reform UK has been the big winner in England, picking up more than 1,400 seats and taking control of councils in areas where Labour and the Conservatives have been historically dominant.
(February 8, 2026)
With Morgan McSweeney’s enforced departure over the Mandelson scandal, his former deputies Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson have both been promoted to replace him as joints chiefs of staff
During the opposition years, his defenders countered that a stolid technocrat was exactly what the country needed. They sold the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service as the polar opposite of Boris Johnson, who was driven from Downing Street in part by Starmer’s own forensic questioning. If only Starmer had lived up to the billing of his detractors, reluctantly conceded by his allies, he wouldn’t be in the hole he finds himself this weekend.
Instead, he now has to rely on a defence that is lawyerly in the worst sense of that word. To have knowingly misled parliament is, in political terms, a capital crime. So the PM has to proceed on two tracks, one for “knowingly” the other for “misled”.
The BBC understands Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in Sir Olly Robbins and was effectively sacked after a Guardian investigation revealed Mandelson had not been security cleared.
The PM is facing calls to resign amid claims he misled MPs when he told them „full due process“ had been followed.
Senior minister Darren Jones said Sir Keir had not been told of the vetting recommendation until Tuesday this week, had not misled MPs and would not be resigning.
(April 16, 2026)
„Es ist unverzeihlich, dass kein Minister, nicht einmal Downing Street, informiert wurde“, kommentierte Premierminister Keir Starmer. Doch Starmer selbst geriet ins Visier der Opposition, die seinen Rücktritt fordert. Der Chef von Downing Street scheint jedoch nicht zurücktreten zu wollen. „Er wird nicht zurücktreten“, versicherte Starmers engster Vertrauter, Darren Jones.
(Thu 16 Apr 2026 19.16 CEST)
In September, in a letter co-signed with foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, Robbins told MPs that “conducted to the usual standard set for developed vetting.
The Guardian understands that Robbins was told he had to resign after Starmer and Cooper lost confidence in the civil servant.
Mandelson’s failure to secure vetting approval has not previously been publicly revealed, despite intense scrutiny over his appointment and the release by the government of 147 pages of documents supposed to shed light on the case.
„This week the UK and France will co-host a summit to advance work on a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping when the conflict ends,“ Starmer posted on X.
Britain has previously convened representatives of more than 40 countries that share the aim of restoring freedom of navigation. The United States was not involved in those talks.
The US announced its blockade after talks with Iran failed to secure a lasting peace deal to end hostilities in the Middle East.
Following a meeting between US and Iran negotiators in Pakistan‘s capital Islamabad, President Donald Trump said the US would start „BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz“.
The US Central Command (Centcom) later confirmed its forces would enforce the blockade „impartially“ on vessels leaving and entering Iranian ports, including those located in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
(page source date: March 30, 2026)
New research published by Cratus Group reveals a seismic shift in political allegiances across East London, with the Labour Party’s traditional “safe territory” under threat from unprecedented voter volatility and a deepening trust deficit.
The report, The Battle for the East End, based on bespoke polling by Focaldata, examines voter sentiment in Newham, Redbridge, and Barking & Dagenham. The findings paint a stark picture of an electorate increasingly disillusioned with political institutions.
Keir Starmer is facing a surge of public discontent, with a new poll indicating that a clear majority of voters believe he should step down, while many are also calling for a fresh general election.
The findings point to a sharp collapse in support, not only among the wider electorate but within Labour’s own ranks. A significant share of those who backed the party in the 2024 general election now say the Prime Minister should resign.
„We‘ve been pulling together a coalition of countries … working on a political, diplomatic plan, but also looking at military capabilities and … the logistics of actually moving vessels through the Strait,“ Starmer said during his visit to the Gulf.
The remotely piloted aircraft, often used by the RAF, supports missions including „surveillance, search and rescue, and armed operations alongside Nato and US forces“, according to the RAF.
The drone flew over Lebanon before and after the wave of Israeli strikes on Wednesday afternoon, which came after a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US was agreed on Tuesday night.
He was asked if Britain could be targeted by Iran after reports at the weekend that Iran had fired two ballistic missiles at the U.S.-U.K. military base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Starmer also said that any attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz needed careful consideration and a viable plan, and that his number one priority was to protect British interests and de-escalate.
Consistent with UNSC Resolution 2817, we emphasise that such interference with international shipping and the disruption of global energy supply chains constitute a threat to international peace and security.
Yes, but: France, Germany, Italy and Japan have previously all publicly ruled out sending naval vessels to the strait during the war.
He says the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened to „ensure stability in the markets“.
„That is not a simple task,“ he says, which is why the UK is working with „all of our allies“ to bring a „viable plan“ to restore freedom of navigation to the region.
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday (March 11) adopted a resolution urging Iran to stop its attacks on Gulf nations, but the text avoided mentioning recent US or Israeli strikes on Iran, drawing sharp criticism from Tehran.
The resolution passed with 13 votes in favour, while veto-holding members China and Russia abstained. It “demands the immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.”
Der UN-Sicherheitsrat hat am Mittwoch mit klarer Mehrheit eine Resolution angenommen, in der ausschließlich die Angriffe des Iran auf die Golfstaaten verurteilt werden – nicht jedoch die vorangegangenen Angriffe der USA und Israels auf den Iran. China und Russland haben sich enthalten.
Presented by Bahrain and co-sponsored by 135 countries, the resolution emphasized „strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence“ of the GCC states and Jordan.
It strongly condemns the „egregious attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against“ the Gulf countries and Jordan, emphasizing that the attacks „constitute a breach of international law and a serious threat to international peace and security.“
The survey also found that Keir Starmer’s approval rating has hit a record low, with just 15% of respondents approving of his leadership, giving him a net score of -49. The figure is lower than that of Theresa May, Boris Johnson, or Rishi Sunak at the least popular points in their premierships.
This poll follows Labour’s crushing defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election earlier this week, where the Green Party captured a seat it had never won before
„We have taken the decision to accept this request to prevent Iran from firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved.
„The basis of our decision is the collective self-defence of long-standing friends and allies, and protecting British lives.“
The UK reportedly shot down a missile heading towards a base housing its service personnel in Iraq on Saturday.
Healey noted that around 300 UK armed forces personnel were “within several hundred yards” of drones and missiles that Iran fired at a US military base in Bahrain, while two ballistic missiles were “fired in the direction of Cyprus” on Saturday.
“It demonstrates how our bases, our personnel, military and civilians at the moment are at risk with a regime that is increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrolled in the attacks it’s mounting,” he said.
Giving the first UK Government response to Mr Khamenei’s death, Healey told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I think few people will mourn the Ayatollah’s death, not least the family and friends of those thousands of young protesters murdered on the streets of Iranian cities.
“Iran and the regime he’s led for so long, it’s a source of evil, murdering its own citizens and sponsoring and exporting terror, including to countries like Britain.”
(February 20, 2026)
The decision by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, first reported by The Times, was reportedly made due to concerns that such action could violate international law.
President Trump had requested that the U.S. be allowed to use the facilities at Diego Garcia and Royal Air Force Base Fairford in Gloucestershire, the European hub for America’s fleet of heavy bombers, the outlet reported.
If Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar‘s desire to dislodge Sir Keir Starmer had had public accomplices, that could have been it.
There was a crucial pivot point on Monday afternoon when things could have gone in one of two ways.
If others had said Sir Keir should go, he might not have got to the end of the day without announcing his departure.
But instead, there was a rallying of support from the cabinet and from various wings of the Labour Party.
Wes Streeting has been accused of orchestrating a coup against Sir Keir Starmer after claims emerged he talked to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar two days before Mr Sarwar called on the prime minister to resign.
Sources said the pair are thought to have discussed the current political situation in the Labour party, with many blaming the health secretary for Mr Sarwar’s intervention, according to the Telegraph.