Keir Starmer and Anas SarwarKeir Starmer has insisted the government wants Anas Sarwar to be the next first minister even after the Scottish Labour leader’s ambush.Sarwar became the most senior figure in the party to call for the prime minister to resign on Monday, after calling an emergency press conference.He said the UK’s leadership had to change after Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US – despite Mandelson’s known ties to dead paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Mandelson is now facing a police investigation over allegations he passed market sensitive information to the disgraced financier when he was business secretary between 2008 and 2010.Sarwar urged Starmer to step down over the scandal to avoid complete annihilation Labour during the Holyrood elections on May 7.“The distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change,” the Scottish Labour leader said. “We cannot allow the failures at the heart of Downing Street to mean the failures continue here in Scotland, because the election in May is not without consequence for the lives of Scots.”But Sarwar’s attempted coup failed as all cabinet members publicly declared their support for Starmer along with more than 100 Labour MPs.The prime minister then tried to paper over the cracks in his party while hosting political cabinet on Tuesday.He told cabinet ministers and the deputy Labour leader, Lucy Powell, that “the whole of the Labour Party wants Anas Sarwar to become first minister and will fight for a Labour government in Scotland”.Starmer also insisted his political cabinet is “strong and united”, even as a new row between No.10 and health secretary Wes Streeting has erupted.The senior figure has once again accused Starmer’s allies of briefing against him and conspiring with Sarwar – claims Streeting vehemently denies.Sarwar was expected to have some support from his opposite number in the Welsh government, first minister and leader of Labour in Wales, Eluned Morgan.However, she announced her support for Starmer on Tuesday morning.In a statement, Morgan said: “I support the prime minister in the job he was elected to do. After years of revolving-door leadership under the Conservatives, the country needs stability in an age of instability, and that matters for Wales.”But she warned that the Mandelson failures “must be acknowledged and confronted honestly”.Andy Burnham, often seen as a rival to Starmer, insisted the prime minister has his “full support”, too.He also added a call for “stability”, adding: “Stability comes from greater unity and that would be helped by a more inclusive way of running the party. But recent events makes that now feel possible.”Related…Keir Starmer Lives To Fight Another Day After Anas Sarwar Ambush BackfiresHammer Blow For Keir Starmer As Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar Calls On Him To QuitCabinet Ministers Declare Support For Starmer As PM Fights For Survival HuffPost UK – Athena2 – All Entries (Public) Read More