What Starmer Does Next
Newscast
BBC
4.3 • 6.6K Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, we look at the choices facing Prime Minister Keir Starmer now the Mandelson scandal has left him weaker.
Former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett has told Paddy that Starmer should sack his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.
Cabinet Secretary Pat McFadden has told Laura that Starmer should stay in the job.
And the Fire Brigades Union has been the first organisation of its kind to say there needs to me a new leader.
Laura, Paddy, and political correspondent Joe Pike look at the arguments for and against those suggestions.
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The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Kris Jalowiecki. The technical producer was Frank McWeeny. The weekend series producer is Chris Flynn. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:06.0 | Laura, where do we begin? |
| 0:08.1 | Hard to know, isn't it? |
| 0:09.9 | The Prime Minister is in the biggest trouble of his life. |
| 0:13.8 | Correct. And I think we could go, oh my goodness, there's all this big swirl and sprawl, which is true. |
| 0:18.8 | But we are really discussing, as you were discussing on the radio this morning and as we were |
| 0:22.7 | discussing on the TV, one central question. |
| 0:25.6 | Can Kirstarmer go on? And if you can, for how long? |
| 0:29.6 | All on Sunday's newscast. |
| 0:32.1 | Newscast from the BBC. |
| 0:34.5 | Fat boy sliver me in the classroom doing our violin lessons. |
| 0:37.4 | I was the tattle tail in the class. Can I have an apology, please? I trust almost nobody. That daddy has to sometimes do strong language. Next time in Moscow. I feel delulu with no salulu. Take me down to Downey Street. Let's go have a tour. Blimey. It's Laura in the studio. Hello, it's Paddy in the studio. And it's also Joe Pike in the studio. Hi, guys. Young Pike. How nice to have you with us. Hello. So it's been a very big 24 hour, 48, 72 weeks of news. But today, I think you were, we were, and all the Sunday newspapers are really focusing on this issue of |
| 1:10.8 | Kier Starrmer's authority. We know he's in a hall. How might he plan to get out of it? |
| 1:17.2 | So this morning, you spoke to Labour Grandee, veteran, former minister and somebody who's |
| 1:22.4 | very well respected in the party, David Blunkett. |
| 1:25.4 | Yes, former secretary. And he said, home secretary, he said Morgan McSweeney's got to go. |
| 1:31.6 | So the chief of staff of the Prime Minister, someone absolutely central. |
| 1:35.7 | You can't overestimate how key he's been to Kirstama's success in getting to No Matter 10 in the first place, |
| 1:41.4 | or indeed how important he is behind the scenes. |
| 1:44.9 | David Blunkett, someone who's well respected with a big voice in the party, has explicitly |
| 1:48.6 | said, there should go. |
| 1:50.1 | My view now is that he needs a new chief of staff. |
... |
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