Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will lead Labour into the next general election, but admitted that appointing Lord Peter Mandelson ambassador to Washington DC was a “mistake.”
The Prime Minister’s authority has been rocked in recent weeks by the controversies surrounding the appointments of Lord Mandelson and Lord Matthew Doyle despite their association with sex offenders, three departures from Downing Street, and a call from the Scottish Labour leader for him to resign.
However, Sir Keir has now come out fighting against suggestions he should resign, and reports of plots within Labour to oust him.
The Prime Minister also said he would “absolutely” lead the Labour Party into the next election.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “I won the leadership of the Labour Party when people said I wouldn’t. I changed the Labour Party when people said I couldn’t. I won an election when people said we wouldn’t. Now I intend to change the country, whatever other people say.”
When asked directly if he will lead the party into the next election, Sir Keir said “absolutely.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the Prime Minister was asked if appointing Lord Mandelson as US ambassador was his biggest mistake since he took office.
He replied: “I’m not going to list mistakes in rank order. It was a mistake.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted he would lead the party into the next election
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REUTERS
Sir Keir also sent a direct message to the Labour MPs who were plotting to oust him.
The Prime Minister said: “I think it’s absolutely clear that the party does not want to descend into the chaos of the last government. That is crystal clear.
“What the party wants, what the Government wants, is to be utterly focused on what matters
“That is the safety and security of every citizen and the cost of living, and that cannot be achieved if we don’t face up to the huge threats that we face as a country.”
PICTURED: Sir Keir Starmer beams at Germany’s Friedrich Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron in Munich | GETTY
Speaking at the conference, Sir Keir had earlier insisted he “ended the week much stronger” than he started it after a period of political turbulence.
He was asked in a panel discussion after his speech whether the turmoil left him vulnerable to challenges from Reform UK, the Green Party and the Tories.
The Labour leader replied: “No, I reject that. I ended the week much stronger than I started it.
“That’s a very good place to be, and my party and my government is completely united on the question of Ukraine and defence and security and the need for stronger relations with Europe on defence, on security and on economy as well.
“So I think that there is real strength in the position I’ve now set out.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer sent a message to plotting Labour MPs
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REUTERS
Attacking Nigel Farage’s “pro-Putin” Reform UK party, Sir Keir suggested it was the only faction in the House of Commons not behind the UK’s support for Ukraine.
He said: “Imagine if they were in government in the United Kingdom. The Coalition of the Willing could not exist without UK participation in it.
“We would not be seen as a leader on the European or international stage. We would be seen as a country that people couldn’t do business with.
“So it’s not universal across our Parliament, but there’s a very strong feeling amongst right-minded politicians that we stick together on Ukraine.”