Bloomberg quoted sources from within the ruling Labor Party, Mr. Starmer's seat is shaking violently after the scandal of appointing Mr. Peter Mandelson as British Ambassador to the United States.
The incident caused a wave of outrage in British politics, leading to Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney submitting his resignation on February 8.
The situation at 10 Downing Street is currently assessed as extremely tense. Many MPs expressed outrage that Mr. Starmer is still in office even though he himself directly approved the controversial appointment decision mentioned above.
Some government officials are even lobbying ministers to put pressure on the Prime Minister to resign, or threaten to resign simultaneously to protest. Observers predict the probability of Mr. Starmer leaving office next week is 50-50.
To save his political career, Mr. Starmer is said to be considering inviting former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to return to the cabinet and granting more powers to Energy Minister Ed Miliband.
However, if the resignation scenario occurs, potential replacement candidates include Health Minister Wes Streeting, Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper.
The transfer of power will be carried out through an internal party voting process to choose a new Prime Minister instead of holding early general elections, similar to the process that the Conservative Party implemented in 2022.
The focus of the crisis is Mr. Peter Mandelson, who has been under criminal investigation by the London Metropolitan Police since February 3. He is suspected of providing confidential data on tax reforms and government financial bailout packages to billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2009.
Although appointed Ambassador to the United States in February 2025, Mr. Mandelson was fired in September of the same year when his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was exposed. Currently, the British government is drafting an emergency bill to strip him of his lifetime title in the Senate.
It is expected that on February 9, Prime Minister Starmer will give an important speech to Labor Party MPs in the House of Representatives to seek support. He may also give a live televised speech to explain the incident to the entire public on the same day.
