How Starmer survived his 'moment of peril' despite own-party revolt

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on (PA) James Manning

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has survived renewed calls for his resignation from within his own party, including from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described the crisis as a "moment of peril" for the Prime Minister. The Cabinet rallied around Starmer, and MPs at Monday night's Parliamentary Labour Party meeting largely rejected demands for him to step down.

Miliband acknowledged the gravity of the situation in a BBC Breakfast interview. «In a sense, yesterday was a moment of peril for the Prime Minister. I make no bones about that,» he said. He explained the Cabinet's collective decision: «But, as a collective body, the Cabinet, the Labour Party looked at the alternatives of going down this road of a chaotic leadership election, trying to depose a prime minister, and they said 'no, that's not for us'.»

The resignation calls stemmed from fallout related to the Peter Mandelson scandal and concerns that distraction from Downing Street could hinder Labour's electoral prospects ahead of May's Holyrood elections. Starmer's No 10 operation has already seen the departure of chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications chief Tim Allan, part of efforts to restructure after a bruising start to 2026.

Starmer's defiant response

At the Parliamentary Labour Party meeting in Westminster on Monday night, Starmer issued a defiant message to his critics. «I've won every fight I've ever been in,» he told MPs. The Prime Minister made clear he was «not prepared to walk away».

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called for Starmer's resignation. She told the Daily Telegraph he had «proved incapable of doing the things a prime minister needs to do».

Cost-of-living focus

Miliband urged the Labour Government to be bolder in addressing the cost-of-living crisis. Speaking to Sky News, he said: «The biggest issue we face as a country – and your viewers will face this – is that for nearly 20 years now, we've had a long-standing cost-of-living crisis, not just a few years when Russia invaded Ukraine and bills went through the roof, and people are hurting,» He added: «And so I think the job of all of us, and leadership is a collective business, is to show how we can rise to that challenge.»

The Energy Secretary dismissed suggestions his comments amounted to a veiled leadership bid. «I'm not going to run,» he told Sky News, calling such speculation «absolutely baloney».

Starmer is now expected to undertake a community visit focused on the cost-of-living burden. Further changes to his No 10 team are anticipated in the coming days, with the country's top civil servant Sir Chris Wormald rumoured to be departing. At the end of the week, the Prime Minister is expected to travel to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, where the future of the transatlantic alliance will be a key topic.

Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).