Starmer vows to fight on as UK PM after second top aide quits
His chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and communications director, Tim Allan, resign within 24 hours of each other
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[LONDON] UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to press on with his agenda, as the departure of a second senior aide in 24 hours left his grip on power increasingly tenuous.
He addressed his staff at 10 Downing Street on Monday (Feb 9) in the wake of the resignation of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who was a key architect of the Labour Party’s landslide election win 18 months ago.
McSweeney’s departure was followed by the resignation of his communications director, Tim Allan.
In his remarks to staffers, Starmer praised McSweeney’s contribution to the party’s political revival, and signalled that he intended to fight on as prime minister.
“We must prove that politics can be a force for good. I believe it can. I believe it is,” he said. “We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.”
The prime minister has been struggling with historically low approval ratings, and facing rebellions by backbench Members of Parliament. He has come under fire over his decision in late 2024 to appoint Labour grandee Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
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That decision is being re-examined, after the extent of Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was revealed in the files released by the US Justice Department.
While McSweeney took the blame for the appointment in his resignation statement, the decision ultimately rested with Starmer. The criticism has fuelled questions about his ability to hang on as prime minister.
The departure of Allan, who took on the role of communications director only in September, will feed into the sense of confusion surrounding No 10.
McSweeney and Allan had been locked in a power struggle and the aides risked descending into open infighting, said sources.
“I have decided to stand down to allow a new No 10 team to be built,” Allan said in a statement on Monday morning. “I wish the PM and his team every success.” BLOOMBERG
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