Starmer addressed his MPs on Monday evening (Image: PA)

“I fought to change the Crown Prosecution Service so it better served victims of violence against women and girls. I fought to change the Labour Party to allow us to win an election again.

“People told me I couldn’t do it. And then they gradually said, you might just get over the line. We won with a landslide majority. Every fight I’ve been in, I have won.”

Sir Keir described the battle with Reform, which is leading national opinion polls, as the “fight of our lives, the fight of our times”.

“As long as I have breath in my body, I’ll be in that fight, on behalf of the country that I love and I believe in, against those that want to tear it up. That is my fight, that is all of our fight, and we’re in this together.”

He apologised again for appointing Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite his links to billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

And he paid tribute to his top aide Morgan McSweeney after his resignation yesterday in a hammer blow to the PM.

He admitted his Downing Street operation had not been “open or inclusive enough”, but added he was not prepared to walk away from his mandate or the country, sources said.

Inside Keir Starmer’s Desperate Address to Furious Labour MPs

Keir Starmer faced one of the most difficult moments of his premiership when he entered a packed meeting of Labour MPs and peers on February 9, 2026.

The prime minister had been under intense pressure following the controversy surrounding Peter Mandelson, the resignation of his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications director Tim Allan, and an unprecedented public call from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar for Starmer to step down.

Against that background, Starmer used his address to Labour parliamentarians to make one central message clear: he was not going to resign.

“I have won every fight I’ve ever been in,” Starmer told MPs, according to reports of the meeting. He recalled his previous political battles, including his efforts to reform the Labour Party and lead it back to electoral victory. He then told colleagues that he was “not prepared to walk away” from his mandate or his responsibility to the country.

The speech was therefore about more than defending a controversial appointment. It was an attempt to reassure a parliamentary party that had been confronted with a rapidly developing political crisis.

A party meeting at a critical moment

The meeting took place after several days of turmoil.

Starmer had already apologised over the appointment of Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States. Mandelson’s connections with Jeffrey Epstein had become a major political issue after the release of documents connected to the Epstein investigation.

Starmer said he had been misled about Mandelson’s conduct and had accepted responsibility for the decision to appoint him.

The fallout had already reached the heart of Downing Street.

Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, resigned after accepting responsibility for advising the prime minister on the appointment. His departure was followed by the resignation of communications director Tim Allan. The two departures removed key figures from the prime minister’s political operation at almost exactly the moment when Starmer needed to demonstrate control.

For Labour MPs, the issue was consequently no longer confined to one appointment.

Questions were being raised about how decisions were made inside Downing Street, how much access MPs had to the prime minister and whether the government was sufficiently responsive to concerns within the parliamentary party.

Starmer acknowledged that he had not been “open or inclusive enough” and indicated that he wanted to give greater weight to the views of Labour MPs.

Anas Sarwar’s intervention

The pressure intensified when Anas Sarwar publicly called for Starmer to resign.

Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, argued that the situation at Downing Street had become damaging to the party and that a change of leadership was necessary.

His intervention was significant because it came from inside Labour rather than from an opposition party.

It meant Starmer had to address not only criticism from Conservatives, Reform UK and other opponents, but also a senior Labour figure publicly questioning his leadership.

However, Sarwar’s position did not immediately produce a wider parliamentary revolt.

Several senior Labour figures instead publicly backed Starmer.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper were among those supporting him. Angela Rayner, who has frequently been mentioned in discussions about Labour’s future leadership, also expressed her full support for the prime minister.

The contrast was striking.

While one senior Labour leader was calling for Starmer to leave office, much of his Cabinet was attempting to demonstrate that the government remained united.

Starmer changes his tone

Inside the meeting, Starmer’s approach was reportedly different from simply dismissing his critics.

He accepted that mistakes had occurred.

He apologised for the Mandelson appointment and paid tribute to McSweeney, while also promising changes to the way Downing Street operated.

According to reports from the meeting, Starmer wanted to rebuild relations with Labour MPs and give them a greater voice in government decision-making.

That was an important part of his political response.

A prime minister with a large parliamentary majority depends on maintaining the confidence of their own MPs. Even without a formal leadership challenge, sustained internal disagreement can make it difficult for a government to pass legislation, defend controversial policies and maintain public discipline.

Starmer therefore needed to persuade Labour MPs that the government could recover from the immediate crisis.

“I have won every fight”

The most memorable part of the speech was Starmer’s attempt to frame the crisis as another challenge he intended to overcome.

He reminded MPs that he had previously faced doubts about whether he could transform Labour after Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

He described his work reforming the Crown Prosecution Service and then his effort to change Labour sufficiently to make the party electorally competitive.

Eventually, Labour won a large parliamentary majority.

Starmer used that history to explain why he was refusing to leave office under pressure.

“I have won every fight I’ve ever been in,” he told colleagues, according to the reported transcript.

He also warned that abandoning his mandate would create further political instability.

The language was clearly intended to demonstrate determination at a moment when opponents were demanding his resignation.

The Reform UK factor

Another significant element of Starmer’s argument was the wider political environment.

Reuters reported that Starmer referred to the need to prevent Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, from taking power.

Reform had become a major political force and was increasingly competing for voters who had previously supported Labour and the Conservatives.

For Labour MPs, this created an additional concern.

The party was not simply dealing with an internal leadership dispute. It was also operating in an increasingly fragmented political environment in which Reform, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and other parties were competing for support.

Starmer’s argument was therefore partly about political continuity: he presented himself as the person who had won Labour its large majority and who remained responsible for delivering the government’s programme.

A crisis inside Downing Street

The resignations of McSweeney and Allan nevertheless raised questions about the structure of Starmer’s administration.

McSweeney had been one of the most influential people in Starmer’s political career. He played an important role in Labour’s transformation after the Corbyn years and in the party’s successful general election campaign.

His departure therefore represented more than the loss of another government adviser.

The Guardian described the chief of staff role as one of the most powerful positions around a prime minister because it can involve political strategy, access, personnel and internal coordination. McSweeney’s resignation consequently created an immediate organisational problem for Starmer.

Tim Allan’s departure added another difficulty.

A communications director leaving after only a relatively short period meant that Starmer’s team would have to rebuild its communications operation at the same time as the government was attempting to regain control of the political narrative.

What Labour MPs heard

The response inside the meeting appeared more positive than some observers might have expected.

The Guardian reported that Starmer received applause and that some MPs believed he had changed the mood by speaking directly about the crisis, acknowledging mistakes and promising to improve relations with colleagues.

Rachel Reeves subsequently described the address as “excellent” while acknowledging that the previous days had been extremely difficult for the government and Labour Party.

Her comments reflected the broader position of ministers: mistakes had been made, but the party should move forward rather than immediately turning the crisis into a leadership contest.

The meeting therefore did not produce Starmer’s resignation.

Instead, it produced a temporary demonstration of parliamentary support.

The immediate pressure eases — but questions remain

Starmer emerged from the meeting still prime minister.

That did not mean the underlying political problems had disappeared.

The Mandelson controversy continued to generate questions about the appointment process. Opposition parties continued to criticise the government, while Labour figures remained concerned about the party’s political position.

ITV later reported that Starmer faced further questioning over his judgement at Prime Minister’s Questions and acknowledged responsibility for mistakes while defending the strength and unity of his government.

The prime minister also faced questions about other appointments and the functioning of Downing Street.

The episode therefore became a broader debate about political accountability and decision-making rather than simply one dispute over Mandelson.

A fight for political authority

The February 9 meeting demonstrated the difference between formal authority and political confidence.

Starmer still possessed the authority of the prime minister and the mandate of the general election. But maintaining that authority depended on persuading Labour MPs that he could lead the government effectively through a difficult period.

His speech was designed around precisely that objective.

He acknowledged mistakes without accepting the argument that those mistakes required his resignation.

He recognised internal criticism while challenging colleagues to remain united.

And he presented his previous political victories as evidence for why he intended to continue.

For Labour MPs, the meeting offered an opportunity to judge that argument for themselves.

For Starmer, it was an opportunity to stabilise his government.

The road ahead

The immediate crisis did not end with the speech.

Downing Street still needed to replace senior advisers, rebuild its political operation and restore confidence among Labour MPs.

Starmer also needed to return attention to the government’s domestic programme, including the economy, living costs and public services.

The February confrontation therefore marked a turning point, but not necessarily a conclusion.

Starmer had entered the meeting facing calls from within his own party to step down. He left having secured public support from senior ministers and enough parliamentary backing to continue.

His most forceful message was simple: he intended to stay.

Whether that would translate into lasting political stability depended on events after the meeting.

For the moment, however, the address had achieved its immediate purpose. Rather than announcing his departure, Starmer told Labour MPs that he would continue leading the government and would fight to deliver the mandate he had received from voters.

The next challenge was no longer simply surviving one difficult meeting.

It was demonstrating that the government could learn from the crisis, rebuild its Downing Street operation and return its attention to governing.

That was the task waiting for Starmer after the doors of the Labour meeting closed.

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