Sarwar’s intervention comes as the Mandelson affair fuels rising cynicism, especially among younger voters, says Marie Macklin

Anas Sarwar’s call for Keir Starmer’s resignation was nothing if not bold. Politics can sometimes mean rolling the dice in high-stakes gambits filled with personal jeopardy, and that is what the Scottish Labour leader has done. Sarwar’s intentions are sound and his justification clear, in the midst of the scandal engulfing the prime minister and distracting attention from the pressing issues facing the country. The fact that, so far at least, fellow big hitters in the form of UK cabinet ministers have failed to match his courage does not mean that Starmer will escape the ongoing impact of the Mandelson affair.

The cast list in the fiasco which has washed over Number 10 in recent weeks is a colourful one. From Labour’s own so-called Prince of Darkness to an actual former Prince of the realm all the way through to Jeffrey Epstein himself, the enigmatic dark heart at the centre of it all.  

In some ways it feels almost reminiscent of political scandals of a bygone age, like the Profumo affair which fatally damaged the Macmillan government in the 1960s. Then, as now, powerful men abused their positions in behaviour which risked or actually exposed state secrets, and then as now young women were the pawns and victims.  

Easdale brothers back Anas Sarwar after Starmer resign call

Scottish Labour MPs back Keir Starmer in Anas Sarwar row

Sarwar’s revolt leaves Starmer reeling and Labour in freefall

Starmer is finished........

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