Calls for United Kingdom Prime Minister Kier Starmer to resign have begun to rise following a string of revelations about how the former Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson was appointed.
If that was not enough for the PM, local Elections are in two weeks, and support for Labour is plummeting in polls even in ruby red London.
Olly Robbins Testifies
The former Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office Olly Robbins testified before the foreign affairs select committee about the decision he took to overrule UK Security Vetting about appointing Mandelson.
'The position taken from the Cabinet Office was that there was no need to vet Mandelson, as he was a member of the House of Lords, he was a privy councillor [and] the risks attending his appointment were well known and had been made clear to the prime minister before appointment,' Robbins said.
'In the end, the Foreign Office insisted and put its foot down,' he continued.
Cabinet Minister Revelations
Revelations are now coming out about cabinet ministers having doubts about appointing Mandelson.
Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, also revealed that he had concerns at the time that Mandelson's appointment would 'blow up' and disclosed that Lammy had concerns about Starmer's decision too.
'I had a conversation with David Lammy about it before the appointment and I said I was worried about it ... I think he was worried about it too,' Miliband told Sky News.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former MI6 chief, said the decision to appoint Mandelson was 'completely inappropriate' and said Downing Street must take primary responsibility for proceeding with the appointment despite known risks.
'The primary fault lies with No 10 in announcing the appointment... not making it conditional when they must have known very clearly Mandelson's reputation and the sort of skeletons in his cupboard,' he said.
'The stakes are very high, a cabinet minister told the Financial Times ahead of the Kings Speech in May.
'Another minister said that Starmer had "picked the wrong fight" by sacking Robbins, adding "there was no way it was going to end well.'
'I think Labour MPs are more despondent than anything,' they said. 'They feel like they're in purgatory. It's terminal but nobody wants it now.'
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, said the alleged failure to inform Lammy of plans to make Starmer's director of communications an ambassador were "extremely concerning," while another described it as an "insult to the diplomatic service."
Possible Labour Local Election Disaster
In a recent poll by YouGov, shows Labour's foothold on London politics may be slipping.
'The model, which uses data from more than 4,500 adults in London in fieldwork from 27 March to 21 April, projects vote shares for each of the parties in all 32 London boroughs.'
'While Labour are expected to top the London ballot once more, this will be off only around a quarter of the city-wide vote (26%), down a full sixteen points since the 2022 London elections, with the Conservatives dropping nine points to 17%.'
'Mirroring the national picture, the biggest beneficiaries of this decline will be the Greens and Reform UK, though in the capital it is the Greens of the two who are ahead, on 22% of the vote, up ten points since 2022. Reform UK, who won close to 0% of the vote last time, are now forecast to win a 14% share in our model's central estimates.'
