A substantial majority of British voters believe Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should resign over his handling of the Peter Mandelson scandal, according to a comprehensive new poll. The survey indicates that Starmer's apology failed to adequately address serious allegations of sleaze within the Labour Party, leaving voters deeply concerned about his judgment.
Poll Reveals Widespread Demand for Resignation
The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll of UK voters has delivered damning results for the Prime Minister. Over half of Britons surveyed—59 per cent—believe Starmer should have quit over his controversial appointment of Mandelson as US ambassador, which represents the most significant diplomatic posting available to a UK official.
Only around a third of voters (34 per cent) said Starmer should not resign over the affair. Interestingly, seven in ten Labour voters polled maintained that the Prime Minister should remain in office despite the damaging revelations, suggesting significant partisan division on the issue.
Voters Question Starmer's Judgment
The poll results reflect growing voter angst with Starmer's decision-making on crucial matters. The Mandelson scandal, combined with revelations from the Epstein files, has already led to the resignation of Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, indicating the seriousness of the political fallout.
Lord Mandelson was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in a public office after released Jeffrey Epstein files appeared to show the former Labour cabinet minister leaking sensitive details to the convicted paedophile financier during the height of the financial crisis. Mandelson was released on bail shortly after his arrest.
Parliamentary Speaker Drawn Into Controversy
The scandal has reached the highest levels of Parliament, with revelations that Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, had informed the Metropolitan Police that Mandelson was planning to travel to the British Virgin Islands. The police subsequently apologized to Hoyle for "inadvertently revealing" he was the source of information relating to the arrest.
Mandelson's lawyers have strongly denied the allegations, stating the suggestion of wrongdoing was "baseless." However, the damage to public confidence appears to have already been done.
Voter Awareness and Dissatisfaction
When new details emerged regarding the close relationship between Epstein and Mandelson, Starmer issued an apology and accused the former US ambassador of lying during his vetting processes. The polling shows that the vast majority of voters (74 per cent) were aware of Starmer's apology, but a majority (52 per cent) said they were dissatisfied with his response.
Only around 23 per cent of voters said they were satisfied with Starmer's handling of the apology, indicating a significant credibility gap for the Prime Minister on this issue.
Broader Concerns About Labour Party Culture
The research points to deeper issues with voters' perceptions of the Labour Party. A striking 65 per cent of respondents agreed that the party has a "sleaze and corruption problem," with one in three voters (34 per cent) strongly agreeing with this statement.
Even among Labour supporters, a similar percentage (35 per cent) agreed that their party has a sleaze problem, suggesting internal recognition of cultural issues. Only around 14 per cent of voters disagreed with the statement about Labour's corruption problems.
Comparative Government Assessment
The research uncovered particularly damning figures when voters were asked to compare the current Labour government to the previous Conservative administration. Over a third of voters (34 per cent) said the current government was worse, while only one quarter of Britons said it was better.
Some 38 per cent of people said the current government was "about the same" as the previous Conservative administration, indicating that many voters see little improvement despite the change in leadership.
Methodological note: Freshwater Strategy interviewed 1,221 eligible voters in the UK, aged 18 and over, online between 27 February and 1 March 2026. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 per cent. Data are weighted to be representative of UK voters. Freshwater Strategy are members of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules.
