Labour MPs' chatter is all about when - not if - Starmer quits

By SOPHIE CHURCH - POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 00:16, 22 April 2026 | Updated: 00:16, 22 April 2026 Labour MPs were last night debating when – not if – Keir Starmer would resign, as the PM sank yet further into a political disaster of his own making. Backbenchers are discussing between themselves the mechanism that would see Sir Keir removed from office after further details emerged about his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Publicly taking on the Prime Minister, Sir Olly Robbins yesterday told a parliamentary committee that Downing Street had put 'constant pressure' on him to approve Mandelson for the role. One senior Labour MP told the Daily Mail that Sir Olly had been 'treated disgracefully' by No 10. 'If the Prime Minister is saying he wasn't informed but had given him strict instructions to get it done, the Prime Minister is not in charge of events, I'm afraid. 'If he gets a drubbing at the local elections, I'm pretty sure they'll move against him,' the MP said of Labour backbenchers. Under Labour's rules, a leader can be challenged if at least 20 per cent of the party's MPs (80) nominate a single candidate to succeed him. But Labour MPs are hoping the PM 'can be persuaded his time is up', the MP added, as putting names to a document supporting another candidate is 'not the Labour way'.  Labour MPs were last night debating when – not if – Prime Minister Keir Starmer would resign, as the PM sank yet further into a political disaster of his own making Pictured: Sir Keir visited the British Museum on Tuesday to view the the design recommendations for the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar yesterday continued his calls for Sir Keir to resign, telling the BBC there had been 'far too many missteps' and the 'tipping point' had been the Mandelson scandal Pictured: Sir Keir stood on stage with Mr Sarwar at the Scottish Labour Party Conference held in Edinburgh in 2023 They added: 'Most of us wouldn't sign it. It's not how we live our lives. It's not like we're cowards or anything else – you just want people to see that their own writing is on the wall.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar yesterday continued his calls for Sir Keir to resign, telling the BBC there had been 'far too many missteps' and the 'tipping point' had been the Mandelson scandal. Senior Labour MP Sarah Champion said a leadership challenge was 'absolutely the last thing that we want right now', but admitted that Sir Keir was fundamentally disliked by voters.  'People don't like Keir on the door but it's not over this Mandelson thing. They don't like him personally,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Sir Keir said he was 'furious' he was not told Mandelson had failed his security vetting, but Labour MP Andy McDonald said he had warned the PM of the risks associated with the disgraced former peer. 'I said to the Prime Minister about Mandelson, 'Distance yourself from this fella. Don't touch him with a barge pole. He's toxic',' he said. A female MP said Sir Olly's testimony 'speaks to some wider issues in terms of 'jobs for the boys' culture within the top of No 10. The original sin was the decision to appoint Mandelson. Nothing that's really been said today changes that'. While they said Sir Olly's testimony hadn't 'tipped the balance' to trigger a move to replace Sir Keir immediately, 'everyone's focus' was on next month's local elections. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.