After a faltering start to 2026, the government has spent the past week attempting to project authority and momentum. Instead, events at home and abroad have reinforced a sense of fragility around the Prime Minister’s leadership, with internal party tensions, controversial international positioning, and the opening salvos of a fraught by-election combining to overshadow Downing Street’s agenda.
Domestically, the formal kickoff of the Gorton and Denton by-election has re-exposed Labour’s internal fault lines. The contest follows the resignation of Andrew Gwynne and has immediately become a proxy battle over the party’s direction and the grip of the leadership. Speculation that the seat could offer a route back to Parliament for Andy Burnham was swiftly shut down by the NEC, a move widely interpreted as being sanctioned by allies of Keir Starmer.
While the leadership has justified the decision on procedural and electoral grounds, many MPs privately view it as defensive and overly controlling. The episode has added to a growing narrative of a party leadership more focused on managing internal threats than projecting confidence, particularly in the run-up to what is expected to be a bruising May election cycle.
Overlaying this is the fallout from Lord Mandelson’s resignation from the Labour Party last night, following renewed attention on material linked to the Epstein files. While Mandelson has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing, the decision to step away has revived uncomfortable associations for Labour at a moment when the leadership is keen to emphasise reset and discipline.
The episode has been seized upon by critics as evidence of poor political judgment, with Mandelson having been appointed as US Ambassador just months ago.
Against this unsettled domestic backdrop, the Prime Minister has been on a high-profile visit to China, the first by a UK premier since 2018. Accompanied by Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Peter Kyle, the trip was intended to signal a pragmatic recalibration of the UK’s approach to Beijing. The government is framing the visit as part of a more “grown-up” and strategically literate China policy, balancing economic engagement with national security concerns. Supporters argue this reflects geopolitical reality and the need to secure growth opportunities, while critics on the backbenches and in the media warn of mixed messaging, particularly so soon after approval was given for a major new Chinese embassy in London. Rather than drawing a line under the China debate, the visit has reopened it, exposing divisions within Labour over how far re-engagement should go.
As the government continues to try and take hold of the political agenda, the past week has underlined the challenge facing the government. Starmer is attempting to project seriousness and international credibility but is being repeatedly pulled back into domestic skirmishes that highlight insecurity and unresolved tensions within his own party. As the Gorton and Denton campaign gathers pace and scrutiny of Labour’s internal discipline intensifies, the coming weeks are likely to test whether the Prime Minister can regain control of the political narrative or whether these episodes harden into a broader perception of drift – with talk of a leadership contest continuing to circulate.
Headlines
- Mandelson leaked sensitive UK government tax plans to Epstein – The Financial Times
- Cut London councils and give Sadiq Khan ‘opposition mayor’, says think tank - The Times
- Bad Bunny makes Grammy history as stars protest against ICE – BBC News
What’s on in Parliament
Monday 2nd February
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Defence
- Legislation: Consideration of Lords Amendments to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
- Adjournment: Tolled crossings and regional connectivity
House of Lords
- Introductions: Carol Linforth OBE; Lord Isaac
- Oral questions: Representations to the government of China to seek the release and return to Britain of United Kingdom citizen Jimmy Lai
- Crime and Policing Bill - committee stage (day 14)
Tuesday 3rd February
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Justice
- Legislation: Second Reading of the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
- 10-minute-rule-bill: That leave be given to bring in a Bill under SO No. 23
House of Lords
- Introductions: Baroness Teather; Russell Hobby CBE
- Oral questions: Increased spending on the two-child benefit cap will be for foreign-born children
- Legislation: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill - report stage (day 5)
Wednesday 4th February
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Science, Innovation and Technology
- Prime Minister’s Question Time
- Opposition Day Debate
House of Lords
- Oral questions: The provision of corridor care in the NHS
- Oral questions: Updating the rules relating to land covenants on supermarket chains
Thursday 5th February
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Attorney General’s Office
- Business Statement: Business Questions to the Leader of the House
- General Debate on Road Safety
- Westminster Hall Debate: Secondary breast cancer
House of Lords
- Introductions: Lord Archbishop of Canterbury; Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
- Oral questions: Reducing youth unemployment
- Legislation: Crime and Policing Bill - committee stage (day 15)
Friday 6th February
House of Commons
- Not sitting
House of Lords
- Legislation: Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - committee stage (day 9)
Consultations
- National Planning Policy Framework: proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system – closes 10th March
- Refreshing our guidance on unfair contract terms – closes 19th March
- Proposed changes to Gambling Commission fees – closes 29th March
Statistics
- Soft Drinks Industry Levy statistics – published 30th January
- Trade and investment factsheets – published 2nd February
- Banana prices – published 2nd February