2026-02-11 17:50
publication
2026-02-11 17:50
More than half of Britons believe that Prime Minister Keir Starmer should resign due to the nomination of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, according to a poll conducted for the Politico website published on Wednesday.
Mandelson, one of the most influential Labor politicians of the last 30 years, took up the post of ambassador to the US in February last year, a few months after Labor returned to power. Starmer canceled it after only seven months, when it emerged that Mandelson's acquaintance with Jeffrey Epstein, the late American financier and sex offender, had lasted longer than previously known.
But the political storm erupted again in the UK after further documents about Epstein were published in the US at the end of January. They show that Mandelson years ago accepted money from Epstein and provided him with confidential government information.
In a poll conducted by Public First for Politico over the weekend, 52 percent respondents answered that Starmer should resign, 19 percent – that the prime minister does not have to resign, but his advisors should leave, while 15 percent believes that neither Starmer nor his advisers should resign. The remaining 14 percent it had no opinion. What's more, even 23 percent expressed the opinion that Starmer should resign. respondents who intend to vote for the Labor Party.
On Sunday and Monday, two key Starmer advisers stepped down – Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and director of social communications Tim Allan. After these resignations, speculation flared on Monday that Starmer himself would be forced to take the same step, but ultimately government members publicly supported him, which postpones the topic of his voluntary or forced resignation for some time.
According to 64 percent respondents, before nominating Mandelson, Starmer had enough knowledge about his relationship with Epstein to assess that entrusting him with the ambassadorship was a bad idea, while 21 percent believes in the explanations of the Prime Minister, who argues that he did not have sufficient knowledge. (PAP)
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