Keir Starmer vows to lead Labour into next general election after bruising week

Keir Starmer: ‘We didn’t change the Labour party, we didn’t do all that it entailed to win the election and the mandate for change, not to deliver on it.’ Photograph: Dan Kitwood/APView image in fullscreenKeir Starmer: ‘We didn’t change the Labour party, we didn’t do all that it entailed to win the election and the mandate for change, not to deliver on it.’ Photograph: Dan Kitwood/APKeir StarmerKeir Starmer vows to lead Labour into next general election after bruising weekPrime minister says his job is not at risk over Mandelson vetting as allies back him against claims of wrongdoingAletha Adu and Pippa CrerarSun 26 Apr 2026 10.49 EDTFirst published on Sun 26 Apr 2026 08.14 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleKeir Starmer has said he will lead Labour into the next general election, as his Downing Street allies denied claims of any wrongdoing over the appointment and vetting of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.It has been a bruising week for the prime minister after the Guardian revealed that he appointed the former Labour grandee despite vetting officials recommending that he be denied security clearance. His handling of the row was called into question, including his swift decision to sack the Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, told Sky News’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday show: “No wrongdoing by the prime minister has been proven in relation to Lord Mandelson’s appointment,” adding: “The whole situation is regrettable.”Jones said: “Of course these particular questions of whether the prime minister had lied or misled the house, or had done any wrongdoing here, that’s all been shown not to be the case.”View image in fullscreenThe chief secretary to the prime minister, Darren Jones, defended Starmer on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PAOn Saturday night, Starmer attempted to brush off mounting unrest inside his party and shut down questions about the future of his leadership in an interview with the Sunday Times. Asked directly if his prime ministership was over, Starmer told the newspaper: “No”.Pushed on whether he could continue, he replied: “Of course. We didn’t wait 14 years to get elected, we didn’t change the Labour party, we didn’t do all that it entailed to win the election and the mandate for change, not to deliver on it.”Asked if he would lead Labour into the next election, Starmer said: “Yes”.Allies of the prime minister have already planned his response to what are expected to be a difficult set of Scottish, Welsh and local English elections on 7 May for Labour, and which could once again throw his leadership into peril.After the results roll in, they expect the prime minister’s initial reaction to be one of humility. “We know that voters are sending us a message: we need to acknowledge that we’ve heard it,” one source said.“Think of Obama’s ‘shellacking’ moment after the US midterms [in 2010] when the Dems took a heavy beating. Keir needs a similarly realistic and humble response.”Downing Street also wants to “inject some hope” into the government’s narrative, one senior figure said, pointing to the king’s speech the following week as an opportunity to do so.But they added: “We know that won’t be easy. We haven’t done a good enough job telling voters about all the big things we’ve done – and we’re too good at creating our own bad headlines. It’s not just down to Keir though, we all need to do better.”The prime minister hopes to bolster…

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