By JAMIE BULLEN, LIVE COVERAGE EDITOR and GETHIN HICKS, REPORTER
Updated: 18:18 GMT, 9 February 2026
Angela Rayner has pledged her ‘full support’ to Keir Starmer as she joined the Cabinet in rallying around the beleaguered Prime Minister following a call from the Scottish Labour leader to resign.
Ms Rayner, Keir Starmer’s former housing secretary and ex-Labour deputy leader, said the party needed to learn from the Peter Mandelson scandal but urged MPs not to ‘play politics and factional games’.
Her intervention came as Cabinet ministers rallied around the Prime Minister after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said his leadership was ‘not good enough’.
Mr Sarwar became the most senior Labour figure to urge Starmer to step down, explaining ‘too many mistakes’ had been made in Downing Street in the wake of the Peter Mandelsonscandal.
Speaking at a hastily arranged press conference in Glasgow, Mr Sarwar he spoke to Starmer earlier today explaining his decision was ‘not easy’ or ‘without pain’ as he has a ‘genuine friendship’ with the Prime Minister.
Follow the latest updates on Keir Starmer’s future in Downing Street
MPs give Sir Keir a warm welcome
When he arrived at the committee room to address to the Labour party, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was reportedly welcomed with a huge round of applause and standing ovation.
It was said to be so busy ahead of the meeting that two MPs were refused entry.
‘Don’t forget we’ve got to get the PM in here,’ one security guard told a member of the party.
Starmer leaves Downing Street
Sir Keir Starmer has left Downing Street ahead of his meeting with members of the Labour Party, which is scheduled to begin imminently.
Starmer has faced several calls to resign over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, including some from within his own party.
Powell: ‘We need to stand together’
MP Lucy Powell, speaking to reporters in Westminster, has urged her colleagues in government to ‘stand together’.
She insists that under-pressure Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is in a ‘good mood’ and understands why the public are upset.
‘He’s not easily knocked down,’ Powell insisted, adding that Sir Keir will prove that in tonight’s meeting with his backbench MPs.
‘He’s showing that he’s up for the fight.’
by David Wilcock, Deputy Political Editor
Keir Starmer’s premiership is hanging from a thread today as he faces mounting calls to quit.
But his rivals for power within the Labour party appear far from ready to step into his shoes.
As many as six names have been linked with a challenge to Sir Keir. But none appears to want to be the person who triggers it, perhaps wary of the saying ‘the hand that wields the knife shall never wear the crown’.
But events have also taken place before they are ready, with May’s local elections seen as a focal point for unrest on Labour backbenches.
Andy Burnham was seen as the main challenger, but Sir Keir blocked the Greater Manchester mayor from running for a Westminster seat last month, effectively killing off any imminent hope of replacing the PM.
It means that Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister and Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, are the best placed to vie to take over.
by Stephen Glover
Let’s peer six months into the future. Will Angela Rayner be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Might she represent our country on the world stage, and rub shoulders with Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron? Can we imagine her standing outside No 10 and telling us how she will change Britain for ever?
The answer to these nightmarish questions is not far short of ‘Yes’. Rayner has more chance than anyone else of being Prime Minister in six, or even three, months – certainly more than Wes Streeting or Andy Burnham or Ed Miliband.
by James Tapsfield, UK Political Editor
Keir Starmer looks to have bought himself a stay of execution tonight despite fury at the Mandelson scandal and claims Angela Rayner is readying a bid for Labour’s top job.
An alleged campaign website for the former deputy PM has surfaced as Sir Keir faces a mounting crisis over his future.
Ms Rayner has also spoken out to offer ‘full support’ Sir Keir, despite swirling rumours about her ambitions.
However, the Guardian highlighted that an angelaforleader.co.uk domain briefly went live last month.
A spokesman for the Labour MP said: ‘This fake website has nothing to with Angela. It was not commissioned by her or with her knowledge. She will take legal advice given the use of her name and image without her consent.’
Allies described it as ‘dirty tricks’ and a ‘false flag’ operation. Ms Rayner is regarded as the most likely successor should a vacancy arise at the top, but has yet to resolve the situation with HMRC over that unpaid stamp duty bill that forced her resignation in September.
‘Biding her time then she will pounce’: Mail readers react as Rayner backs Starmer
The latest development that Angela Rayner has pledged ‘full support’ to Keir Starmer has resulted in many comments from our readers, some not entirely convinced at her words.
Ms Rayner, widely seen as a possible leadership contender if Starmer were to stand down, gave her support as Cabinet ministers rallied around the PM in the wake of Anas Sarwar’s call for him to go.
Here’s what our readers had to say
Yes, her full support is basically her self interest, what’s in it for me”Of course she will, she is just playing a game to keep him there until her HMRC investigation has finished and if as usual it is a cover up and she is cleared then she will stick in the knife….As soon as Rayner says she has his full support you know she’s out to get him. Goodness she’s even had her hair done ready for the contest.Rayners biding her time until she’s cleared for her not paying the money she owes then she will pounce.
Welsh First Minister attacked over Starmer ‘silence’
The Labour First Minister of Wales has been criticised for her ‘silence’ amid calls for the Prime Minister to resign.
Baroness Eluned Morgan was reportedly expected to follow Anas Sarwar in calling for Keir Starmer to resign following the scandal surrounding Peter Mandelson.
Baroness Morgan has previously refused to say whether she thinks Sir Keir is a ‘good’ Prime Minister, but has not joined calls for his resignation.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, criticised Lady Morgan for being ‘silent’, and accused her of being ‘happy for the chaos to continue’.
He said:
Wales’ Labour First Minister remains silent on Starmer’s lack of judgment despite evidence that the Prime Minister knew of Mandelson’s close relationship with a paedophile before appointing him US ambassador.The First Minister is seemingly happy for the chaos to continue and for the Prime Minister to squat in Downing Street. Even when the game is up, the First Minister puts her empty slogan of ‘partnership in power’ above all else.
DAN HODGES: Starmer probably safe for now
Mail on Sunday columnist Dan Hodges says Keir Starmer is ‘probably safe for now’ but will likely come under new pressure to quit when the Mandelson files are released.
Dan says Labour MPs will follow the Cabinet and throw their support behind Starmer at tonight’s meeting.
Gilt yields soar again as No10 turmoil rocks the markets
The boss of one of Britain’s biggest banks has called for ‘stability’ and ‘certainty’ as doubts over Sir Keir Starmer’s future wreaked havoc on the bond markets.
With Labour’s meltdown over Lord Mandelson leaving the prime minister on the brink, the yield on ten-year gilts – a key measure of how much it costs the UK government to borrow – jumped to over 4.6 per cent.
Analysts said investors are worried that the downfall of Sir Keir could see a more Left-wing prime minister take his place – leading to even higher borrowing and more spending.
‘If we do get a change in the premiership, the replacement is likely to be from the left,’ said Mohit Kumar, chief European economist at Jefferies.
Read more here:
Labour MPs back Starmer ahead of crunch meeting
Labour MPs are also showing support for Keir Starmer ahead of a crunch meeting tonight.
Al Carns, a popular backbencher tipped as a possible future party leader, said Starmer should remain in office.
Here’s his post on X:
How Keir Starmer could become Labour’s shortest-serving PM of all time
Calls for Sir Keir Starmer to quit Downing Street have raised the prospect of him becoming the shortest-serving Labour prime minister of all time.
In the biggest crisis of his premiership, the Prime Minister is being told to resign by senior figures within his own party in the wake of the Peter Mandelson scandal.
Sir Keir has been severely weakened by the exit of two key aides – his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications chief Tim Allan – within 24 hours.
If he joins them in departing No10 himself, it would mark a dramatic downfall for Sir Keir since his general election landslide in July 2024.
He has so far served one year and 219 days as PM, meaning – if he departs in the near future – he would be Labour’s shortest-serving premier of all time by some distance.
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Angela Rayner pledges her ‘full support’ to Keir Starmer as Cabinet rallies around beleaguered PM: Live updates
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