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POLITICO Poll Majority of British voters think PM Starmer should step down

· 2 min read

POLITICO Poll: Majority of British voters think PM Starmer should step down​

A majority of Brits think Prime Minister Keir Starmer should resign in the wake of new revelations about ex-ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, according to new results from The POLITICO Poll.

POLITICO Poll: Majority of British voters think PM Starmer should step down

The online survey, conducted this past weekend by the independent London-based polling company Public First, reflects the perilous position Starmer, already unpopular with the public despite Labour’s landslide 2024 victory, is in over his decision to appoint Mandelson to the key diplomatic gig despite his known past relationship with the late convicted sex offender.

According to the poll, 52 percent of Brits said the prime minister should resign, while 19 percent said he should remain in his role, but that his advisors should resign. Of those who called for resignations, 47 percent said there were other reasons beyond the Mandelson scandal that government leadership should change.

Even among those polled who intend to vote Labour, a quarter (23 percent) believe Starmer should go — and almost one in three (32 percent) said his advisors should go even though they wanted the leader to remain.

The fieldwork for the polling was still being conducted when Morgan McSweeney and Tim Allan — two key aides in Starmer’s team — resigned.

“A majority of all voters — regardless of the party they’re planning to vote for — want some resignations over this, but only Labour voters say advisors should go rather than Starmer himself,” said Seb Wride, head of polling for Public First. “The events of the weekend may be enough to satisfy Labour activists and most of their voters, but it’ll be hard to convince those already opposed to Labour that they’re done enough to move on.”

The release of new documents detailing the depth of communications between Mandelson and Epstein, including discussions about sensitive government policy, has triggered a criminal investigation into Mandelson’s conduct in office. It has also sparked fresh questions for the British prime minister, who relieved Mandelson of his ambassadorship last year over the Epstein relationship and has newly apologized to Epstein’s victims for appointing him in the first place.

Starmer, whose Cabinet rowed in behind the PM on Monday, said Tuesday he will “never walk away from the country I love.”

source: tehrantimes.com