United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s job appeared to have survived a day of calls for him to resign after his Cabinet colleagues came out in support of the Prime Minister in advance of a meeting between Mr. Starmer and Labour MPs. The Prime Minister had come under increasing pressure on Monday (February 9, 2026) as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to step down following the resignation, earlier on Monday (February 9, 2026), of Mr. Starmer’s communications head, Tim Allan.
Another rift emerged in the party by the end of the day, as per reports in the British press, with Mr. Starmer’s aides accusing Health Secretary Wes Streeting of instigating Mr. Sarwar, an accusation denied by Mr. Streeting’s staff.
It has been a battle for political survival for Mr. Starmer since Sunday (February 8, 2026). His communications head Mr. Allan, who quit to “allow a new No. 10 team to be built”, departed less than a day after key Starmer ally and Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney resigned after taking “full responsibility” for the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s U.S. envoy. Mr. Mandelson was sacked by Mr. Starmer in September after it came to light that his ties with child sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein were stronger than was previously known to the public.
