Former Prince Andrew’s arrest and reason
It wasn’t the sexual allegations that ultimately led to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s surprising arrest.
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing pressure following his cabinet resignation over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
- Mr Starmer’s political battle revolves around the appointment of Mr Epstein’s friend Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
- Recent opinion polls show Starmer’s approval ratings have fallen to historic lows for a Labor leader.
- Despite the controversy and calls for his resignation, some experts believe Starmer is likely to remain in the role for some time to come.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has come under fire after a wave of cabinet resignations over the release of other documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, experts say, even though he never met the convicted sex offender.
University of Pennsylvania Political Science Dean Brendan O’Leary told USA TODAY about Starmer, who won in a landslide in 2024, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. “The Prime Minister is definitely looking over his shoulder.”
Starmer’s name does not appear in any of Epstein’s files, but his political struggles are linked to Peter Mandelson, a friend of Epstein’s as ambassador to the United States. Mandelson was removed as ambassador in September 2025 after further details of his relationship with Epstein emerged.
Further details of Mr. Mandelson’s ties to the disgraced late financier were revealed in the latest documents from the Department of Justice, which revealed that Mr. Mandelson corresponded with Mr. Epstein after the investor registered as a sex offender in 2009.
Mandelson also resigned from the House of Lords, the upper house of the British parliament, this month and could be investigated for misconduct in public office, O’Leary added.
Mr Starmer apologized to Mr Epstein’s victims for believing Mr Mandelson’s “lies”.
Mr O’Leary said: “Mr Mandelson’s move to provide Mr Epstein with information about the UK’s intended support for the euro at a critical time in the currency crisis was unusual.” “And, of course, we’ll never know what the scope of that was, but it would have been considered classified information that could have been misused by Epstein.”
Just a week after the destruction of the Epstein documents on January 30, two of Starmer’s top aides also resigned. Communications director Tim Allan and Starmer’s close aide Morgan McSweeney said they had taken responsibility for advising on Mandelson’s appointment to Britain’s top foreign affairs post.
“The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was the wrong one. He has undermined faith in our party, our country and politics itself,” McSweeney said in a statement on February 8. “While I do not oversee the due diligence and vetting process, I believe that process needs to be fundamentally overhauled.”
Mr O’Leary said the Prime Minister’s position had understandably come under intense scrutiny, particularly the resignation of Mr McSweeney, who Mr Starmer “trusted as a tireless enforcer of internal party discipline”.
Mr O’Leary said: “I don’t think Mr Starmer is dishonest, but I think he made a serious error in judgment by believing Mr McSweeney’s advice about Mr Mandelson.” “It is entirely possible that further information will emerge, and if it does, it could be bad news for Starmer.”
Starmer is also struggling in the polls.
The public was also cruel to Starmer.
An Ipsos poll conducted at the end of January found that just 20% of people had a favorable view of Starmer, who has vowed to stabilize the country’s economy and improve public services. His net favorability score of -50 matched the lowest Ipsos has found for a Labor leader since it began tracking the statistic in 2007.
What’s more, Starmer’s “lead in satisfaction, not favorability, is the worst of any prime minister ever recorded by Ipsos,” Kieran Pedley, Ipsos’ UK political director, told USA TODAY from London. “And we’ve been measuring a similar lead in satisfaction with presidential approval ratings since the late 1970s, the days of Margaret Thatcher.”
Mr Pedley said Mr Starmer had been elected with a mandate to make change because people were deeply dissatisfied with public services, the cost of living and immigration. Pedley said some polls believe the pace of change is too slow.
“Keir Starmer’s position as prime minister is fragile,” Mr Pedley added. “I think there is definitely a sense of political crisis.”
A YouGov poll in January also showed Starmer’s decline in popularity was widespread, with only 18% of Brits viewing him favorably.
Mr Starmer vowed on February 10 that he would never walk away from his job, despite pressure from some Labor leaders, including Anas Sarwar, who heads Scotland’s Starmer Labor Party and called on Mr Starmer to resign.
Laura Beers, a political science professor at American University who specializes in British politics, said Starmer was likely to remain in office.
And with Labor holding a majority in parliament, Starmer is unlikely to be forced to resign. She believes Starmer will weather any storm for now, despite heavy criticism.
“If[Starmer]had intended to go, he would have been gone by now,” said Mr Beals, who is currently in the UK. “Given that Starmer’s resignation has not yet occurred, it is unlikely that this will ever reach that point.”
The upcoming election could decide Mr Starmer’s fate.
Mr Starmer’s future may be determined by a series of local elections scheduled for May, in which his Labor Party is expected to lose heavily.
Around 5,000 voters will decide seats in 136 local councils after the British government recently postponed elections following an appeal from the rival Reform Party.
Reform Party leader Nigel Farage said the government’s decision was a victory for Reform Britain.
“We took this Labor government to court and won,” Farage said in a February 16 post on X.
Beals pointed out that Andy Burnham, a popular British politician and current mayor of Greater Manchester, was recently blocked from running in a special election where he could return to parliament and become a potential challenger to Starmer.
Mr Pedley, director of UK politics at Ipsos, said in a direct poll that “people are split down the middle” between Mr Starmer and Mr Farage on who they want to be prime minister, as opposed to Labour’s other options.
“A successor is not certain, and one reason is that it is not yet clear who will definitely replace him,” Pedley said.
“There’s nothing in the polls to indicate there’s anyone waiting to replace him,” Pedley said. “Therefore, while there are still difficult times ahead for Mr Starmer, there is no guarantee that he will be sacked or replaced.”
Beal agrees.
“If Starmer resigns or is expelled, there will be no viable successor and Labor knows that,” Mr Beals said. “There’s literally 0% chance of an election being called on this. In fact, it would be shocking if Starmer didn’t weather this storm.”
But Mr O’Leary is less optimistic about Mr Starmer’s future.
“He has barely survived, but his encounter with fate will come in the upcoming election,” O’Leary said. “And with Labor (the party) doing exceptionally poorly and that being the case now, it’s very difficult to see how he will survive.”
