The clock appears to be ticking on the scandal-ridden government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, with half of the UK public believing he should resign, as controversy reigns over his decision to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
With just two weeks to go before British voters will head to the polls for local elections across the country, Prime Minsiter Starmer and his left-wing Labour Party continue to struggle with convincing the public of their worth.
According to a UK Political Pulse survey from Ipsos for broadcaster LBC, a survey of 2,262 British adults conducted earlier this month found that 50 per cent of voters think that Starmer should resign, compared to just 36 per cent who think he should remain in office.
The poll also found that 68 per cent of the public believe that Labour will not win the next general election, which is currently is set for 2029, but could be called earlier should the government collapse before then.
The survey found that only a third of voters (36 per cent) think that Labour would stand a better chance at winning the next general election by replacing Starmer at the helm of the party, suggesting a majority thinking the party is doomed no matter who is at the helm.
Indeed, with no member of Starmer’s cabinet having more than five per cent support among 2024 Labour voters or the voting public as a whole.
The clear favourite among Labour voters to take over the party should Starmer resign is Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham at 25 per cent, yet this falls to 17 per cent among all voters.
However, Burnham, a Tony Blair-era Westminster swamp figure who has attempted to rebrand himself as a working-class champion from “The North”, is not eligible to become Prime Minister, with Starmer having blocked the mayor from running in last month’s by-election in Gorton and Denton, meaning that he still does not have a seat in parliament and consequently isn’t eligible to stand for leader.
Ipsos Director of Politics Keiran Pedley remarked: “As speculation mounts about Keir Starmer’s future, the way forward for Labour is unclear. 6 in 10 are unfavourable towards him and half think he should stand down.
“However, sentiment hasn’t really moved since the autumn and it is not obvious who would replace him. Andy Burnham remains the standout alternative in terms of public opinion but he is not in parliament. So if there was an immediate contest, there is no strong public sense about who should replace him”.
It comes as Starmer continues to face a rolling scandal of his decision to appoint Jeffrey Epstein pal and veteran Labour political operative Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
Last year, it was revealed that Mandelson had kept his relationship with the paedophile New York financier even after Epstein was convicted of child prostitution charges. It was later reported that Mandelson had allegedly passed on state secrets amid the 2008 economic crisis, potentially giving the Manhattan moneyman an edge in the market.
However, it was Starmer’s decision to appoint Mandelson despite his ties to Epstein, who had failed the security services vetting process, that proved controversial. Some alleged that Downing Street undermined and hastened the process. With Mandelson facing a police investigation, it is unlikely that the story will remain out of the headlines for long in the coming months.
It has been widely speculated that the only reason the scandal hasn’t sunk Starmer yet is the proximity of the local elections. With Farage’s Reform and the radical Greens likely set for a big night, any PM hopeful would likely want to see Labour’s expected losses around Starmer’s head, rather than their own.
The rolling PR disaster for the PM will likely redound to the benefit of Brexit Champ leader Nigel Farage, whose anti-mass stance has seen his party dominate national polls for well over a year. Farage will hope to capitalise on the Labour shambles at the ballot box next week and build an elected support infrastructure through which Reform will hope to challenge for control of Downing Street.