Starmer faces challenging week amid Mandelson fallout and frustrated MPs

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a challenging week amid the fallout from the sacking of Lord Mandelson and frustrations from MPs while he navigates Donald Trump’s state visit.

The Prime Minister is still facing questions over when he and No 10 knew the details of emails published last week that showed the Labour grandee sent supportive messages to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein even as he faced jail for sex offences.

And Angela Rayner’s resignation over her tax affairs still looms large as the race to replace her as deputy Labour Party leader takes off.

It comes as the US President is set to arrive for a state visit that Downing Street said would see the “unbreakable friendship” between the UK and US “reach new heights”.

Sir Keir hailed a “landmark” partnership as the two countries announced a deal to boost the building of nuclear plants to be signed during the visit.

He could get some positive news on his efforts to tackle small boat crossings as the first deportations of migrants under the “one in, one out” deal with France are expected to take place this week.

The first are due to be sent back on a commercial Air France flight on Monday, barring any last-minute legal challenges, The Times reported.

But he will also face further questions about Lord Mandelson.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle’s efforts to lay out what had happened when he spoke to broadcasters on Sunday left many questions unanswered.

He also defended the choice to appoint Lord Mandelson in the first place, saying his “singular talents” meant he was deemed “worth the risk”.

The Conservatives have written to Sir Keir asking him to explain the sequence of events leading to Lord Mandelson’s sacking and publish documents relating to his vetting and correspondence with the Downing Street operation last week.

The party will be pushing for information next week and will use “every mechanism that is available to us to force the truth to come out”, shadow education secretary Laura Trott told the BBC.

He is also facing disquiet among his own MPs, with one backbencher saying he is “supping in the last-chance saloon”.

Blackley and Middleton MP Graham Stringer also said “it is a given” among Labour MPs that the Prime Minister is “making mistakes and doing poorly at the job”, in comments to Times Radio.

Dulwich and West Norwood MP Helen Hayes said there will need to be “questions about the nature of the leadership” if Labour fare badly in elections in May 2026.

“We have really important elections in May… If those elections don’t go well, then that will be the time to ask questions… Questions about the nature of the leadership and whether things can continue as they are, but we’re not at that point now,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour.

Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham could seek a return to Westminster.

But an ally of Mr Burnham rejected that he is laying the foundations for a future leadership bid, calling the rumours “pure speculation with no substance”.

Cabinet minister Mr Kyle said it would be “a shame for Manchester to lose him” when asked about the reports Mr Burnham could seek to return to the Commons after standing down as an MP in 2017.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sought to appeal to members as she launched her leadership bid on Sunday, saying she would use her position if picked to give members a “strong voice” at the Cabinet table.

She also said she wanted to “unite” the party and beat Reform UK to secure a second term for Labour.

Ms Phillipson told members: “You can use this contest to look backward, to pass judgment on what has happened in the last year, or you can use it to shape positively what happens in the run-up to the next election.”

But the deputy leadership contest could serve to further expose the party’s divisions.

Lucy Powell, who is in the running after being sacked as Commons leader in the reshuffle, called for a “change of culture” at Downing Street, in comments to The Guardian last week.

She then told the Manchester Evening News the Government should not shy away from talking about what is not working.

“It’s not my intention to fill the airwaves with a running commentary on the government or to develop what looks like an alternative programme for government,” she said. “That’s not the role.

“But equally, I don’t think we should shy away from having this conversation right now because clearly there are things that aren’t working.”