Labour leadership challenge in wake of disastrous local poll results could unleash chaos in party, MPs told

Cabinet ministers have told mutinous Labour MPs that any attempt to oust Keir Starmer after a potentially disastrous set of election results this week would unleash chaos for the party that would not be easily overcome.

Several, however, told the Guardian that even with the prime minister’s determination to stay in Downing Street after Thursday’s vote, the mood on the backbenches was febrile and events could yet spiral out of control.

The prime minister faces a standards investigation over Mandelson affair and testimony from Morgan McSweeney

Keir Starmer has told Labour MPs to “stick together and fight together” as ministers launched a massive operation to shore up his fragile position before a critical day for his premiership.

The prime minister faces the double threat of a standards investigation into his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US and potentially damaging testimony from Morgan McSweeney, his former chief of staff.

Exclusive: McSweeney summoned by foreign affairs select committee in rare step, as Mandelson vetting row continues

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Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s former chief of staff, has been summoned before the foreign affairs select committee as the Peter Mandelson vetting row continued to undermine Keir Starmer’s premiership.

As MPs attempt to unravel the facts, McSweeney is to appear next Tuesday to respond to allegations that Downing Street put huge pressure on the civil service to approve his appointment as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.

PM to tell Commons he was himself misled and would ‘never knowingly mislead parliament or the public’

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Keir Starmer is expected to admit he inadvertently gave MPs misleading information about Peter Mandelson’s vetting when he addresses the Commons.

But his spokesperson said the prime minister would “never knowingly mislead parliament or the public” and that he was himself misled.

Prime minister to deliver high-stakes statement to MPs over vetting controversy that has put his position in peril

Keir Starmer will deliver a high-stakes statement to MPs on Monday as he struggles to overcome fears inside his government that the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal could yet cost him his leadership.

In what is set to be a dramatic showdown, the prime minister will set out how Mandelson was able to take up his role as UK ambassador without the Foreign Office revealing it had overruled the decision to fail his vetting.

Liz Kendall tries to limit fallout from vetting scandal as PM prepares for Commons showdown

Keir Starmer did not gamble with national security by appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, a cabinet minister has said, as the government tried to limit fallout from the scandal.

With the prime minister preparing for a high-stakes Commons showdown on Monday, Liz Kendall said Starmer should not lose his job over last week’s revelations because he had “made the right calls” on the big issues facing the country.

Deputy prime minister says it is ‘inexplicable’ top civil servant kept Downing Street in dark

Keir Starmer would have blocked Peter Mandelson from serving as the UK’s ambassador to Washington had he known he failed security vetting, David Lammy has said, as he attempted to shore up the prime minister amid damaging fallout from the row.

In his first public comments on the vetting affair, Lammy said it was “inexplicable” that Oliver Robbins, the former top civil servant who was forced out of the Foreign Office this week, had opted to leave Downing Street in the dark over the outcome.

As revelations mount and accusations fly, prime minister prepares for MPs’ anger and Olly Robbins’ testimony early next week

Keir Starmer’s claim he was “staggered” not to have been told of Peter Mandelson’s vetting failure has provoked incredulity across Westminster and accusations that he sacked a senior civil servant to save his premiership.

Senior government figures said the prime minister faced “judgment day” next week when Olly Robbins, who is understood to be furious at being forced to quit the Foreign Office, is expected to appear before a powerful committee of MPs.

Keir Starmer understood to have lost confidence in official over decision to override security vetting failure

• Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision

Sir Olly Robbins, the UK Foreign Office’s top civil servant, has been forced out of his post after the decision to fail Peter Mandelson during his security vetting was overruled by his department.

Robbins was the Foreign Office’s most senior official in late January 2025 when the decision was made, paving the way for Mandelson to become the US ambassador.

Treasury minister James Murray hits back at George Robertson’s criticism over military budget

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A Treasury minister has said balancing welfare and defence spending “is not a zero-sum game”, amid stark warnings that the UK will have to increase its military budget to ensure national security during global volatility.

James Murray, the chancellor’s deputy, said the government was pushing ahead with the biggest sustained increase in defence investments since the cold war, but he would not say when it would publish its delayed defence investment plan.

While Labour braces for a rout that could see off Starmer, a rising drive to keep out Farage is complicating expectations

• Small swings, high drama: why UK polls are less volatile than they seem – in charts

Local elections are often regarded as a referendum on the sitting government, with many previous administrations taking a bloody nose from the electorate but successfully fighting back by the next general election.

Senior Labour figures have taken to reeling off a list of midterm results – 1999, 2003, 2012 – to prove that point. “As we get closer to the general election, it will be less about people’s view of the parties generally and more about the actual choice in front of them,” one said.

Exclusive: Resolution could pave way for full return to frontline politics, but supporters stress she has no plans to directly challenge Keir Starmer

For months there has been an apparently insurmountable obstacle to Angela Rayner going for the Labour leadership, should Keir Starmer find himself facing a contest.

The investigation by HMRC into the former deputy prime minister’s tax affairs has hung heavily over her since she was forced to resign last September over underpayment of stamp duty on her seaside flat.

Ukraine’s president says mass attacks on civilians are no longer the preserve of a ‘madman like Putin’

European nations should prepare for attacks by non-state actors including criminal networks, terror groups and lone attackers as drone technology advances, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned.

The Ukrainian president said it was no longer just “a wealthy madman like Putin” who could afford mass attacks as he demonstrated the latest technology to British MPs and peers.

Exclusive: Senior party figures share data suggesting Green surge could put Labour in fourth place in capital in May

Senior Labour politicians across London have warned the government not to take progressive voters for granted, with concerns the party faces a “political earthquake” in the capital in May after a surge in support for the Greens.

They have been privately circulating new data that suggests Labour could drop from first to fourth place in London in the May elections – losing control of all but two of their councils – with the Greens soaring into first place to take nine.

PM defends decision not to join initial strikes by US and Israel and says UK is doing ‘everything we can’ to de-escalate situation

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Keir Starmer has said the Iran conflict engulfing the Middle East could continue “for some time” as he urged Donald Trump that the “best way forward” in the longer term was a negotiated settlement with Tehran.

The prime minister said the UK was doing “everything we can” to de-escalate the situation, a clear contrast to the US president, who is focused on regime change and has said it was “too late” for the Iranian regime to negotiate.

Exclusive: angelaforleader.co.uk domain also registered but MP’s team dismiss unfinished site as ‘fake’

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An unfinished website claiming to launch Angela Rayner’s Labour leadership campaign was published temporarily in January, prompting further speculation that the former deputy prime minister could be gearing up for a contest to replace Keir Starmer.

The Guardian was alerted to the website, which appeared to be under construction, by a source in the IT industry – before the US Department of Justice’s latest release of documents on Jeffrey Epstein threw the UK government into disarray. It was published, seemingly by accident, on a “staging site”, before being removed from the internet.

Allies hope aide’s departure can quell anger over Mandelson scandal but others say it leaves PM dangerously exposed

• Profile: Labour election guru undone by poor judgment

• ‘Only honourable course’: resignation statement in full

Keir Starmer is fighting to reassert control over his party after accepting the resignation of his closest adviser, Morgan McSweeney, amid anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

After days of pressure over the scandal, his departing chief of staff said on Sunday he took “full responsibility” for his advice to send Mandelson to Washington despite his ongoing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which McSweeney conceded had undermined trust in Labour and in politics itself.

Longtime aide has said he takes ‘full responsibility’ for advising PM to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador

• ‘Only honourable course’: resignation statement in full

• Profile: Labour election guru undone by poor judgment

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Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, has quit his role as the prime minister’s closest aide amid anger over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

The senior No 10 adviser’s position had grown increasingly untenable as pressure on the prime minister mounted over the scandal, which followed the release of emails underlining the extent of Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

PM says Europe must ‘step up’ and signals he wants to work more closely with other states to build military capability

The UK should consider re-entering talks for a defence pact with the EU, Keir Starmer has said, arguing that Europe needs to “step up and do more” to defend itself in uncertain times.

The prime minister signalled that he wanted to work more collaboratively with other European countries to increase defence spending and build up military capability, and doing so through the EU’s scheme is one option available.

US president warns against closer ties with China during British PM’s trip to secure lower tariffs and better market access

Donald Trump has warned the UK against doing business with China, just hours after Keir Starmer lauded the economic relationship during a landmark visit to Beijing.

The US president said it was “very dangerous” for the UK to pursue closer ties with the rival superpower as the prime minister’s three-hour talks with Xi Jinping underlined a thaw in previously strained relations.