Labor Prime Minister is pressured to resign; case involves former ambassador and financier
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, (Labor Party, center-left), has experienced political turmoil in the last week that has put the survival of his government in question. By Thursday (12.Feb.2026), 3 senior officials from Starmer’s office had resigned and members of the prime minister’s own party had asked to resign.
The crisis is related to the appointment of Peter Mandelson to the UK embassy in Washington – a position he held in September 2025, after confirming ties with the financier accused of sexual crimes.
With the new batch of files for the (United States Department of Justice) regarding the Epstein case, British newspapers revealed that Mandelson’s relationship with the financier was greater than previously assumed.
According to the emails, Epstein money to Mandelson’s husband, Brazilian Reinaldo Avila da Silva, in 2009 — 1 year after Epstein was convicted of prostitution of a minor.
To the British newspaper the former ambassador said he was wrong to maintain contact with Epstein after his conviction, but denied being an accomplice to his crimes.
CRISIS IN LONDON
The release of the documents impacted British political leadership. Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, on February 8, after he assumed responsibility for the recommendation that led to Mandelson’s appointment to the diplomatic post in the United States.
Following McSweeney, Tim Allan, Starmer’s communications director, resigned on Monday (Feb 9), and Chris Wormald, cabinet secretary, stepped down on Thursday (Feb 12).
To the Poder360Kai Enno Lehmann, professor of International Relations at USP (University of São Paulo), described the moment in London as one of “obviously moral and political crisis”.
The instability in the government was capitalized on by the opposition, such as the Conservative Party, which claims that the prime minister is no longer fit to govern, and the emerging Reform UK party, from .
The crisis escalated into the Labor Party itself. On Monday (Feb 9), Anas Sarwar, leader of the party in Scotland, publicly the Prime Minister’s resignation.
On Wednesday (Feb 11), Sarwar softened his tone and said that Starmer and other UK cabinet ministers were “welcome” to campaign in Scotland, according to the .
For Lehmann, if Starmer’s government falls, the pressure will come from parliamentarians from the prime minister’s own party, “possibly after elections in Scotland, Wales and local elections in the UK in early May”.
GOVERNABILITY
The professor states that the current crisis represents just another chapter in the series of problems that the Starmer government has faced since 2024, when or position.
Furthermore, economic stagnation and popular dissatisfaction are a big factor. In the 4th quarter of 2025, the UK’s GDP grew by just 0.1%.
According to research carried out in August by just 22% of Brits have a favorable opinion of Starmer, while 69% have an unfavorable view. “In these 20 months of government, the country does not feel better“, from Lehmann.
“Starmer came to power without a great idea“, said Lehmann. For him, the prime minister’s political platform is based on a notion of competence, which would now be in question in the face of the Mandelson-Epstein case, and economic growth, which has not yet been achieved.
The professor cites Mandelson’s problematic history, which was public knowledge even before his appointment as ambassador. Labor had already resigned twice from the cabinet of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (1997-2007), also from the Labor Party, amid scandals.
“Appointing a person with this background as ambassador to the United States, which is the most senior position in the United Kingdom’s diplomatic service, makes no sense.“, says Lehmann. According to him, the situation creates an impression of incompetence that weakens the government.
Still, Starmer has survived the political turmoil, at least for now. The Prime Minister that he would not resign from his mandate, despite internal and external pressure. “I will never run away from the mandate given to me to change this countrys”, he stated.
Participating on the radio LBCthe deputy leader of the Labor Party said that the Prime Minister’s position was much better on Wednesday (Feb 11) than at the beginning of the week.
Starmer tries to shift the focus of the public debate to more practical issues, such as the population’s cost of living. “Put more money in people’s pockets. This is the focus of my government”, he stated in in X. For Lehmann, however, this is unlikely to be enough to guarantee longevity for his government.
