Sir Keir Starmer has held last-ditch talks with his MPs ahead of a crunch Commons vote on the Lord Mandelson vetting scandal today.
The PM pleaded with the Parliamentary Labour Party last night to back him - and "stick together and fight together" - on the Tory-tabled vote, which he branded a "stunt".
This afternoon, MPs will decide on whether to refer Sir Keir to an ethics probe at the hands of the Privileges Committee, the same body which brought down Boris Johnson in 2022.
They have been handed a three-line whip to bring them into line behind their boss - if his plea last night was not enough alone.
He said: "This is a political stunt by our opponents who want to bring us down, obscure our message, stop us getting on with our work... The timing tells you everything, nine days before local elections.
"Tomorrow is pure politics and we need to stand together against it," he vowed. "When we stick together and fight together, we are so much stronger."
With the party long braced for a May 7 election wipeout, Sir Keir also revealed what would need to happen for him to quit as Prime Minister.
He told Sky News he would go if his "absolute rock" wife, Victoria, told him to do so. However, he added she currently believed he should stay in No10.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...
Bridget Phillipson 'open minded' about social media restrictionsÂ
Bridget Phillipson says she is 'open minded' about restrictions
| GETTYEducation Secretary Bridget Phillipson said she was "open minded" about the extent of the restrictions that will be imposed on children’s use of social media.
But she said whatever was put in place has to "stand the test of time".
She told Times Radio: "It’s not a question of whether we take further action to protect young people, it’s the shape of that action, what that looks like.
"There are a range of views, sincerely held, from campaigners, from families, who have different views as to how we can seek to get this right."
Elsewhere... Labour MPs urge Keir Starmer to deliver Hillsborough law in full
Labour MPs have warned "buck stops with the Prime Minister" to deliver Hillsborough law in full and stop the delays.
It came as the House of Commons supported a carry-over motion on Monday, meaning the Public Office (Accountability) Bill can continue to progress in the next parliamentary session.
Sir Keir Starmer had promised to deliver the draft law by April 15 last year, to mark the 36th anniversary of the disaster, however, progress was stalled following concerns over changes which could see the proposed duty of candour disapplied to intelligence agencies.
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the Government remains "resolutely committed to delivering this vital piece of legislation" and pledged to bring it back to the chamber "as soon as possible".
Labour’s Ian Byrne, who was at Hillsborough when 97 Liverpool football fans were killed, said the delays cause "profound distress" and responsibility for them "rests solely with the Government".
The MP for Liverpool West Derby said: "I welcome the Government tabling this carry-over motion for the Hillsborough law, but in truth, it should never have come to this."
Before the vote... Morgan McSweeney and ex-Foreign Office chief Philip Barton to face double committee grilling
Morgan McSweeney and former Foreign Office chief Philip Barton are both set to face the Foreign Affairs Select Committee today ahead of the sleaze vote.
Mr McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer's one-time right-hand-man, has already admitted to taking "full responsibility" for advising the PM to give Lord Mandelson the ambassador job.
He is likely to face questions today over whether due process was followed, including whether he pressured the Foreign Office to place Lord Mandelson in the role.
The former No10 chief-of-staff may also be grilled on exactly who in Downing Street had pushed for the Labour grandee to be sent to Washington DC without any vetting - as well as the "theft" of his phone shortly after Lord Mandelson was sacked.
Philip Barton, Sir Olly Robbins's predecessor at the head of the Foreign Office, will doubtless be asked whether Mr McSweeney told him to "just f***ing approve" the appointment, as alleged in the committee last week.
Reform UK's Zia Yusuf joins PM pile-on with promise to 'carpet bomb' Labour seats
Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf promised to 'carpet bomb' Labour seats
| GETTYReform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf offered his own scathing take-down of the Prime Minsister last night, threatening to "carpet bomb" his party's seats depending on how Labour MPs vote.
"Friendly note to Labour MPs ahead of the vote tomorrow to decide if Starmer should face an ethics probe," Mr Yusuf said.
"If you vote against it, Reform will carpet bomb your constituency to ensure all your constituents know you voted to save the most unpopular PM of all time."
READ IN FULL: No10's defence line ahead of sleaze vote this afternoon
"The Government is engaging with the two parliamentary processes that are already running on Peter Mandelson's appointment with full transparency," a No10 spokesman said last night.
"This is a desperate political stunt by the Conservative Party the week before the May elections.
"Their claims have no substance."
Three Labour MPs give their verdict on whether Keir Starmer will survive sleaze vote
The Prime Minister is bracing for a sleaze vote this afternoon - though one MP threatened the party would 'save the chaos for the week after'
|HOUSE OF COMMONS
Three Labour MPs came out of the woodwork to offer their verdict on whether the PM might survive this afternoon's sleaze vote last night.
The first, billed as a likely rebel, told The Telegraph they were "not sure many people will want to vote with the Tories" but there was "not much appetite to defend the indefensible".
The second said they would not be surprised if "a lot of the new intake abstain", adding: "They've been marched up the hill so many times on things to be marched back down again. What if they end up holding an inquiry anyway?"
The third, a senior Labour MP, admitted: "Labour MPs aren't going to vote for chaos in the week leading up to a local election. We will save the chaos for the week after."
RECAP:Â MPs push Troubles Bill through Parliament despite major fears for British troops
Also yesterday evening, MPs voted to push the controversial Troubles Bill through Parliament in the face of fears for the immunity of Northern Ireland veterans.
The Bill will continue to progress in the next parliamentary session, after MPs voted 279 to 176, majority 103, in support of a carry-over motion late on Monday night.
Troubles veterans had been handed protections under the previous Tory Government's Legacy Act.
But that was rapidly scrapped by Sir Keir Starmer - with Labour claiming the Act was "incompatible" with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
On Sunday night, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch confirmed her MPs would be voting against the carry-over motion - and they did, alongside Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats.
But 279 Labour, Green and Northern Irish SDLP and Alliance MPs were enough to send it through...
RECAP:Â Labour admits it will force internet restrictions on Britons - regardless of what consultation says
In the first of two major developments from the Commons last night, a Labour minister admitted the Government would move to force internet restrictions on young Britons, regardless of the outcome of a consultation on a social media ban.
Education Minister Olivia Bailey revealed the Government "will impose some form of age or functionality restrictions" on social media for under-16s whatever the consultation says.
The concession by the Government comes after relentless pressure from the House of Lords over the issue, led by Tory Education Minister and academy chain founder Lord Nash.
Peers voted four times to press the Commons into forcing a ban onto the British people...