Starmer says 'vast majority' of Labour still supports him amid Mandelson controversy

Good morning and welcome to today’s live coverage of UK politics. Despite several calls for his resignation from within his own party, Keir Starmer told the Sunday Times that the “vast majority” of the Labour party are supportive of his leadership. “In politics, you get this sort of thing all of the time,” he said. “There is always talk. What you never hear from are all the people who are supportive, loyal and just want to get on with the job. And that is the vast majority of people in the parliamentary Labour party. “They’re pleased to be in power. They’ve waited a long time to be in power. And they just want to get on with their job. They don’t make a lot of noise about it. They don’t talk to journalists about it. It’s really important that is reflected in these debates.” As the pressure continues to build over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite vetting officials recommending that he be denied security clearance, Starmer maintained that he believed Labour can still win the next general election under his leadership. “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,” he said. On Tuesday, Starmer’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, is expected to appear before the foreign affairs committee to be questioned over Mandelson’s appointment. McSweeney resigned in February over his role in the hiring of Mandelson. Last week, Olly Robbins, the former top official at the Foreign Office, told the committee that No 10 had created an “atmosphere of pressure” that made it almost impossible to deny clearance for Mandelson. Stay tuned for more.