Question Time Audience Member Rips Into Starmer’s Legacy

Keir Starmer was torn apart by an audience member on BBC Question Time last night as questions over his judgement continue to mount.

The prime minister is facing pressure to resign from some Labour MPs after appointing Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, despite knowing about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

As the show discussed whether Starmer should now step down, one audience member suggested this was the final straw.

“I think that since Keir Starmer became prime minister, he upset the pensioners by saying about the winter fuel allowance, then he upset the farmers, then there was the Angela Rayner scandal, and then Alli,” she said, alluding to the clothes the prime minister received from Lord Alli.

“I think how can people trust this prime minister when he appointed Mandelson and he knew that he had the relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and also he has done so many U-turns on different policies,” she continued. “He has betrayed the British people, especially on disappointment with Mandelson, so how can we trust him and how can we keep him as a prime minister?”

However another member in the audience said “no major party is without scandal”, and that since July 2024 is the only time there’s been stability in governance especially with a shift in the international world order.

“I feel like right now it’s better off either keeping the party current or keeping the leader current to avoid destabilising the country,” he said.

A third audience member said Starmer “looks like a very broken man” when he issued an apology over Mandelson on Thursday.

However, she added: “But I can’t excuse what he did. I really was hopeful that he would be a good leader. I thought he had all the qualities. So if he doesn’t, then who does? How do we move forwards?”

Environment secretary Emma Reynolds defended the prime minister, saying he has dealt with international challenges “very skillfully” in a difficult geopolitical period.

“The security services did not advise against appointing Mandelson,” she noted, while adding that this process clearly needs to be improved.