- More than 60 Labor MPs reportedly called on the British Prime Minister to resign.
- Four government aides resign amid growing pressure on Starmer’s leadership.
- Prime Minister vows to “prove doubters wrong” after disastrous defeat in local elections.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been told by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and a host of other senior ministers to consider setting out a timeline for his departure. The Times The newspaper writes that on Monday.
The statement comes as pressure continues to mount on Starmer following disastrous local and regional election results for the ruling Labor Party.
The report came as Starmer vowed to prove his doubters wrong and resist growing calls to step down after Labor suffered heavy losses in local and regional elections.
More than 60 of Labour’s 403 MPs reportedly asked him to quit, unconvinced by his pledge to make the party “bolder and better” in response to voter frustration at the pace of change.
The rebels included four government aides who resigned from their posts.
Joe Morris, who served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, wrote on X that it was “now clear that the Prime Minister no longer has the public’s confidence or trust to lead this change”.
Another aide, Tom Rutland, who worked for Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, said Starmer had “lost authority” among Labor MPs and “will not be able to regain it”.
Melanie Ward, assistant to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, also called for a change in leadership.
“Keir Starmer did important work to change the Labor Party and it will never be easy to govern in a time like this,” she wrote on X.
“But the message from last week’s election was clear; the Prime Minister has lost public confidence in leading this change.”
Cabinet Office assistant Naushabah Khan, who also stepped down, said: “I am calling for new leadership so that we can rebuild trust and deliver the better future that the British people voted for.”
Under Labor Party rules, any challenger would need the support of 81 MPs – 20% of the parliamentary party – to trigger a leadership contest.
However, such a move could open up a damaging internal battle between Labour’s left and right factions over a successor.
Starmer, 63, came to power in July 2024 after a landslide election victory ended 14 years of Conservative rule marked by austerity, Brexit battles and criticism of the government’s Covid response.
But his premiership has been dogged by political missteps and controversy, including fallout over the appointment and later dismissal of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington following reports linking him to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
As Starmer has struggled to revive economic growth and ease cost-of-living pressures, he has been praised for standing up to US President Donald Trump over Iran.
Labour’s poor showing in last week’s election saw big gains for hard-right Reform UK and the left-leaning Greens at Labour’s expense.
The party also lost control of the devolved Welsh parliament to Plaid Cymru for the first time since its formation in 1999 and failed to regain ground against the Scottish National Party in Scotland.
In a major speech Monday, Starmer acknowledged public frustration with politics, the state of the country and his own leadership.
“I know I have my doubters and I know I have to prove them wrong and I will,” he said.
He promised “a bigger response” rather than “incremental changes” to issues including economic growth, closer European ties and energy policy.
Starmer also pledged to fully nationalize British Steel, saying Brexit had left Britain “poorer, weaker and less secure”.
He attacked Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as a “chancer” and “grifter” whose pro-Brexit campaign had taken Britain “for a ride”.
“If we don’t get this right, our country will go down a very dark road,” he warned.
After the speech, Labor MP Catherine West, who had previously threatened to launch a leadership challenge, said she was instead gathering names of MPs who wanted Starmer to announce a timetable for electing a new leader in September.
Starmer vowed to fight any challenge and warned Labor would “never be forgiven” if it repeated the “chaos” of recent Conservative governments, which saw five prime ministers since 2010, including three in four months in 2022.
Health Secretary Streeting and former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner have long been seen as possible challengers, although neither has universal support in Labour.
Rayner, while stopping short of calling for Starmer’s resignation, said in a speech Monday: “What we’re doing is not working and it needs to change.”
