Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf has called for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign after the government released the first of the ‘Mandelson files’.

Yusuf Slams Starmer’s Judgment

Yusuf questioned Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States, describing it as a catastrophic error.

“Imagine you’ve read that in a vetting report offered to you about a candidate for any job at all – would you give that person a job? And yet Keir Starmer did,” Yusuf stated. “That’s before we talk about any of the other scandals that have littered Peter Mandelson’s past that Starmer would have been aware of.”

He added that the appointment has brought disgrace to the country and raised questions about whether deeper issues exist. “One has to ask, is there something else going on?” Yusuf said. “I would say Keir Starmer should resign. He’s prime minister in name only.”

Speculation on Labour Leadership

Yusuf suggested that figures like Ed Miliband are influencing the Labour Party behind the scenes. He predicted Starmer’s replacement after anticipated poor results in the May elections.

“It’s clearly people like Ed Miliband actually now pulling the strings in the parliamentary party of Labour, and I think it’s just a matter of time now, probably after the May elections, when it looks like Labour will face a catastrophic drubbing, that Starmer will be put out of his misery and be replaced,” he stated.

Government’s Response and Yusuf’s Rebuttal

Addressing the government’s position that additional details are pending due to an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation, and noting that Starmer had questioned Mandelson, Yusuf maintained his stance.

“It’s correct, we don’t yet have a totally full picture, but I put it to you – what is already apparent is so catastrophic and damning that in any sort of normalcy in British politics or politics in any serious country, Keir Starmer would already have resigned,” he responded.

Yusuf attributed the lack of action to Labour’s disarray, a leadership shortage, and reluctance to face expected electoral losses based on current polls. “It’s only because Labour is such a shambles and there is such a shortage of people to take up the mantle. Frankly I think they’re all too cowardly to take on the big losses that are coming almost inevitably,” he concluded.