Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he will “never walk away from the country that I love” after surviving a day of political jeopardy which saw the Scottish Labour leader call for his resignation, reported BBC.
Speaking at a community centre in Hertfordshire, Starmer said he was fighting for the “millions of people held back because of a system that doesn’t work for them”, adding: “I will never give up on that fight.”
He also sought to brush off speculation about his leadership saying he would lead his party into the next general election.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said it was “clear” the Labour Party had “lost confidence in Keir Starmer” and that it was “a matter of when, not if” he stepped down.
Starmer has faced questions about his leadership for months, following numerous U-turns and a drop in his Government’s popularity. Those questions intensified following the release of emails from Jeffrey Epstein, which revealed the extent of the relationship between the convicted sex offender and Peter Mandelson, the prime minister’s pick to be his ambassador in the US.
Labour MPs questioned why Lord Mandelson had been appointed and around half a dozen have called on the prime minister to quit. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar became the most senior figure in the party to call for Starmer to go, saying there had been “too many mistakes” in Downing Street.
Starmer said the “turmoil in politics” from the last few days would not distract him from “the most important issue to focus on” – the cost of living – which he said is “what I’m fighting for, who I’m fighting for”. “I’ve got the most working -class cabinet in the history of this country,” he said. “But it’s utter nonsense to suggest it means everyone gets a fair chance at life… I feel very strongly about this.”
Asked if he would be leading his party into the next election, he said: “I had a five year mandate to deliver the change. I intend to get on with what elected to do which is deliver that change.”
