British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has been rocked by a cascade of resignations and a high-profile sacking, culminating in the abrupt dismissal of Lord Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the United States on September 11, 2025. What was intended as a period of political reset for Starmer’s administration has instead spiraled into a series of damaging headlines, raising questions about leadership, standards, and the future direction of the Labour Party.
Lord Mandelson’s removal came after newly uncovered emails revealed a closer and more supportive relationship with convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein than previously acknowledged. According to the BBC, Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein had been known at the time of his appointment in December 2024. However, a tranche of emails published on September 10-11, 2025, included messages in which Mandelson encouraged Epstein to “fight for early release” after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008. In one message, Mandelson reportedly told Epstein, “I think the world of you.” The revelations proved too explosive to ignore, especially after Mandelson had been seen as a key diplomatic asset, credited with helping Britain avoid the brunt of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and securing a critical trade deal during his brief tenure in Washington.
Starmer’s decision to sack Mandelson came just a day after publicly expressing “full confidence” in his ambassador, echoing a now familiar pattern in his government. As Hyphen reported, the prime minister has repeatedly stood by embattled colleagues before ultimately bowing to mounting pressure and new evidence. This was the case with the earlier, unexpected resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who admitted to underpaying stamp duty on a Brighton property. The departure of such a prominent figure dealt a personal blow to Starmer and set off a domino effect within his cabinet.
The Mandelson episode has laid bare deep fissures within the Labour Party. Outspoken MP Clive Lewis told BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster, “It feels that he [the prime minister] has lost control within the first year.” Lewis described a “very, very dangerous atmosphere” among Labour MPs, adding, “People are concerned, slightly downtrodden, a little bit browbeaten and feeling as if the party has seen better days.” The anxiety is compounded by the surge of Reform UK in the polls, which Lewis said “terrifies me, it terrifies my constituents and it terrifies a lot of people in this country.”
Other Labour MPs have been even more scathing. Paula Barker, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, called Mandelson’s appointment “an absolute betrayal” of Labour’s promise to raise standards in public life. “My colleagues, who represent their constituents every single day, diligently, and stood up against welfare cuts, some of those were suspended for doing the right thing, for standing up for their constituents. Yet we have a man like Mandelson, who is just basically allowed to get away with this – I just think it’s absolutely disgusting, quite frankly.” Barker urged significant changes, warning, “we are failing our country.”
Within government, frustration has spilled over into finger-pointing. Several senior Labour figures, according to BBC reporting, blamed Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney for resisting the inevitability of Mandelson’s departure. One insider described “cold, hard fury” in Downing Street over the episode. However, a senior No 10 source pushed back, insisting that by Wednesday afternoon, McSweeney agreed that Mandelson’s position was untenable and disputed claims he was behind the original appointment. The prime minister’s spokesperson maintained, “the prime minister has confidence in his top team and they are getting on with the important work of this government.”
The government’s official stance is that the ethics system is functioning as intended. A senior cabinet minister told Hyphen, “Humans are humans, people make mistakes and bad judgments from time to time. But there are rules and systems in place. We have an independent ethics adviser and a strengthened ministerial code. The important thing is that these issues are dealt with quickly.” Compared to previous administrations, which often tried to weather scandals, Starmer’s government has acted more decisively. Ministers implicated in wrongdoing have been swiftly removed, but the frequency and scale of the departures are causing concern among Labour’s ranks.
Indeed, the Mandelson affair is only the latest in a string of high-profile exits. Louise Haigh resigned as transport secretary after fraud revelations. Tulip Siddiq, the minister for anti-corruption, stepped down amid a corruption probe in Bangladesh. Andrew Gwynne was sacked for making racist and sexist comments in a WhatsApp group. Rushanara Ali quit as homelessness minister following criticism over rent hikes on a property she owns. The cumulative effect has left the government appearing battered and, in the words of one Labour MP, “no cleaner than the Tories,” a perception that could benefit rivals like Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Opposition parties have seized on the chaos. Conservative frontbencher Alex Burghart announced his party would force a parliamentary vote to release all documents shown to Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper before Mandelson’s appointment. Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller called for Mandelson’s successor to face scrutiny from the foreign affairs committee before confirmation, to “avoid further national embarrassment.” Dame Emily Thornberry, chair of the committee, has already written to Cooper seeking clarity on whether security concerns were raised during Mandelson’s vetting and how the Foreign Office responded.
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, speaking from Kyiv, acknowledged the disarray. “These are not the headlines any of us in government or in Parliament would have chosen or wanted,” he said on BBC Breakfast. He insisted, however, that the decision to sack Mandelson was “rightly taken” after new information came to light. Foreign Secretary Cooper echoed this, stating, “the decision was taken because new information came to light that wasn’t available at the time of the appointment.”
While Mandelson’s supporters point to his diplomatic achievements—including his reputation as the “Trump whisperer” and his role in securing a favorable trade deal—his long history of controversy made him a risky choice. As Hyphen noted, Mandelson had previously resigned twice from Tony Blair’s cabinet and was involved in several ethics scandals during his time as EU trade commissioner.
With James Roscoe, the deputy head of the Washington embassy, stepping in as interim ambassador ahead of President Trump’s state visit to the UK, the government is eager to draw a line under the Mandelson saga. Yet the episode has exposed vulnerabilities in Starmer’s leadership and underscored the challenges of restoring public trust in politics. Many within Labour now hope for a stretch free of scandal, giving Starmer a chance to reassert his authority and focus on the government’s agenda. Whether that hope is realistic remains to be seen, as the opposition, media, and even his own party continue to demand answers and accountability.
For a prime minister who swept into office promising to restore integrity and order, the events of the past weeks have been a sobering reminder of just how quickly political fortunes can change—and how fragile public confidence can be.
