Politics

Starmer faces more calls to step down after McSweeney allegations

Ryan Brothwell 24 September 2025 3 min read

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls to step down after allegations that his Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, tried to mislead the elections watchdog over donations to a Labour thinktank he ran while in opposition.

The organisation, Labour Together, was fined £14,250 by the Electoral Commission in 2021 over its handling of almost £740,000 of donations. The Tories have claimed that it used a “false excuse” of administrative errors, the Guardian reports.

The Conservative party has now released a leaked email from Labour lawyer Gerald Shamash, in which he advised McSweeney to drop his claim that he had been told he did not have to declare the donations, adding that he hoped to minimise publicity for the rule breach.

Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory party chair, said it was in the best interests of the country to investigate possible criminal wrongdoing.

“The Conservatives are taking the unprecedented step of publishing leaked correspondence of the legal advice given to Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney.”

It shows how authorities may have been misled over hundreds of thousands of pounds of donations used to install Starmer as Labour leader, he said.

“We believe there is a strong public interest in revealing the full truth to the public about possible criminal wrongdoing. The Prime Minister was elected on a pledge to restore honesty and integrity in politics, but time and again he has deceived the public and put his party before our national interest.

“We will not let the Prime Minister cover this up like he did with the Mandelson-Epstein files. ‘Nothing-to-see-here’ Keir may be too weak to fire a Chief of Staff who tells him what to think, but Conservatives believe the public deserves the truth.”

Speaking to GB News, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden MP opposed calls for Keir Starmer to resign following the Morgan McSweeney claims, but said that the responsible parties would be investigated.

“Where people fall short of the high standards expected, they are asked to step down, and that is a really big contrast to what was happening during the general election. Why should the Prime Minister step down? He is doing a good job for the country.”

This is the third internal scandal that Starmer has had to grapple with in the last six weeks. Notably, his Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, resigned over claims of tax abuse, while he was forced to step down as the US Ambassador Peter Mandelson over connections to Jeffrey Epstein.