The crisis surrounding the Prime Minister shows no signs of easing after he was accused sacrificing one of the most powerful individuals in the Labour Government in order to save his own political career.
Morgan McSweeney’s resignation as chief of staff failed to quell criticism of Sir Keir Starmer who is seen to be weakened by the loss of his key adviser and mastermind of the 2024 landslide election victory.
In his statement, Mr McSweeney said: “After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government. The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.
“When asked, I advised the Prime Minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice.”
Mr McSweeney, who is married to Imogen Walker, Labour MP for Hamilton and Clyde Valley, stressed that he did not oversee the due diligence and vetting process that led to Mandelson’s appointment.
He added: “I believe that process must now be fundamentally overhauled. This cannot simply be a gesture but a safeguard for the future.”
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who last week reported the former Lord Mandelson to the police over the alleged leaking of sensitive government information to the paedolphile Jeffrey Epstein, said: “Whenever Keir Starmer makes a catastrophic error of judgement, someone else is always forced to carry the can.
“It won’t wash with voters this time. Advisers only advise. It was Keir Starmer who showed appalling personal judgement in appointing Peter Mandelson, despite knowing about his links to Jeffrey Epstein. This is entirely on him.
“Keir Starmer’s time in office has been beset by a constant stream of bad judgements, broken promises, scandals and failure. Voters have lost confidence in him and want him to go.
“With his own MPs calling for him to quit, Starmer is a lame duck leader. He should take personal responsibility and follow Morgan McSweeney out the door before he does any more damage.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said that “once again with this PM it’s somebody else’s fault: ‘Mandelson lied to me’ or ‘Morgan advised me’.”
She added that the PM needs to “take responsibility for his own terrible decisions”.
Mr McSweeney’s own reputation has been seriously damaged by the affair. A strategist who steered Labour back to the centre, he is accused of creating a toxic culture in Downing Street and fostering whispering campaigns against those who challenged his boss.
Fundamentally, he is being called out for failing to advise the PM on how to govern and set a steady ship. Instead, Labour has lacked a clear message and been forced into embarrassing u-turns, leaving the electorate confused about what the party stands for and angry at clear policy failings.
SNP MP Kirsty Blackman turned the fire on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, accusing him of going into hiding over the scandal.
“Anas Sarwar is running scared of scrutiny and has gone into hiding – just like he does every time there is a damaging Labour Party scandal
“Anas Sarwar has serious questions to answer. He tied his leadership to Keir Starmer, allied himself to Peter Mandelson, and rolled-over on every damaging decision from Westminster like a branch manager. Now he’s going down with the ship.”
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