Growing list of members are calling on prime minister to step down
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Sir Keir Starmer is coming under increased pressure to resign, including from a number of Labour MPs who are furious about the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Several MPs have now joined MSP and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar in calling for the prime minister to step aside , as the fallout from the Epstein Files release continues.
Former US ambassador Lord Mandelson left the party after he was accused of sharing government insight to the disgraced financier during the 2008 financial crisis while he was business secretary.
Morgan McSweeney, the advisor who suggested Sir Keir appoint Lord Mandelson, has resigned too, but there are calls for the PM to go further amid suggestions he may be challenged.
Here are all of the Labour MPs who have called on Sir Keir to resign, consider his position, or for a general change as of February 10.
Full list of Labour MPs to challenge Sir Keir Starmer
Brian Leishman – ‘Starmer’s position is untenable’
The MP for Alloa and Grangemouth backed his Scottish Labour leader Mr Sarwsar in calling for the resignation.
He tweeted: "In calling for the Prime Minister to resign, Anas Sarwar has shown that he and Scottish Labour will act in the best interests of our country.
"I have said that Keir Starmer's position is untenable and that it is in the country's best interest for him to step down and for the Government to have a change in direction.
"That change is to govern with real Labour values. That is what people voted for in 2024, and what we should deliver."
Kim Johnson – ‘Too little, too late’
Speaking to @SteveHReports on @LBCNews – tune in now👇🏽 https://t.co/FgQD9HISzr— Kim Johnson (@KimJohnsonMP) February 6, 2026
Another to turn on the party leader was Kim Johnson, who voiced her displeasure on LBC, talking to Steve Holden earlier this week.
The MP for Liverpool Riverside told Steve that Sir Keir’s apology is “too little too late” and that he is "on the rocks”.
The Conservative Party jumped on the broadcast to promote what has been said.
Ian Byrne – ‘Change in political direction [needed] from the very top’
The Derby West MP challenged Sir Keir to consider his future after welcoming the departure of Mr McSweeney.
Mr Byrne tweeted: “But this will not stop with a single resignation. A true change in political direction must now come from – and be led from – the very top.
“The PM must now reflect honestly on his own position and ask whether, for the good of the country and the Labour Party, he should follow McSweeney’s lead.”
Jon Trickett – ‘Need for a moral judgement was overridden’
'That sense of obligation to the right-wing faction of the Labour party seemed to have overridden the need to express a moral judgement.'
Labour's @jon_trickett says Keir Starmer held his political relationships as highest priority when appointing Peter Mandelson. pic.twitter.com/o9mhHzQmig— LBC (@LBC) February 6, 2026
Another to call out Sir Keir on LBC, the Normanton and Hemsworth MP told Shelagh Fogarty : “That sense of obligation to the right-wing faction of the Labour party seemed to have overridden the need to express a moral judgement.”
He tweeted: “Given Mandelson’s role within internal Labour politics in recent years, I call on Labour’s General Secretary to initiate an independent review into his involvement and activity.”
Neil Duncan-Jordan – ‘All those responsible must consider their positions’
The entire Mandelson affair has highlighted some really fundamental issues around trust, confidence and judgement.
We promised to do politics differently, but everything now looks tainted and grubby.
All those responsible must seriously consider their positions.— Neil Duncan-Jordan MP (@NeilForPoole) February 5, 2026
The MP for Poole has called on Sir Keir to consider his position.
He tweeted: “The entire Mandelson affair has highlighted some really fundamental issues around trust, confidence and judgement.
“We promised to do politics differently, but everything now looks tainted and grubby.
“All those responsible must seriously consider their positions.”
Rachael Maskell – ‘Behind this is a web of unaccountable power’
The Labour MP for York Central had supported Andy Burnham being the choice for the Gorton and Denton byelection , which he was ultimately not chosen for.
She later tweeted: “Having written the the whips earlier today, it is right that Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee will have the final say on the #MandelsonFiles.
“Behind all this is a web of unaccountable power and a culture which dehumanises for personal gain and expediency.”
Richard Burgon – ‘Now untenable’
Another Yorkshire MP, the representative for Leeds East said that his constituents have thought that Sir Keir’s position “is now untenable”.
Mr Burgon gave his views on the BBC last weekend and added that ”it's not just MPs on the left” who think this, saying the PM cannot prevent a Reform government at the next election.
