- Pressure on Starmer grew after Andy Burnham entered parliament.
- Wes Streeting also signals readiness to challenge Starmer’s rule.
- Over 100 Labor lawmakers reportedly want Starmer to step aside.
LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer was expected to step down on Monday and set out a timetable for his departure, Britain’s Observer the newspaper reported, although a government source said Starmer remained focused on getting on with the task of governing.
The threat to Starmer’s position, which has been building for months, increased significantly on Friday when his rival Andy Burnham won a seat in parliament that would allow him to launch a formal leadership challenge.
The Observer The report said Starmer discussed the matter with his wife at his country home in Checkers before making a final decision, but senior Labor figures expected a clear statement on his future as early as Monday.
However, a government source said Starmer remained focused on his job and pointed to previous statements he has made to that effect.
The British leader said on Friday he would fight off any challenge to his leadership and urged Labor not to tear itself apart with infighting.
Starmer’s popularity has plummeted
Starmer led the centre-left Labor Party to a landslide victory in the 2024 election, but has become deeply unpopular after a series of scandals and policy U-turns that have left many voters with an overall impression that he cannot deliver the improvement in their living standards that he promised.
If he were to quit or be impeached, it would mean the country installs its seventh prime minister in just over a decade – the highest turnover in nearly two centuries, reflecting anger at the failure of successive governments to improve public services and tackle problems such as illegal immigration.
More than 100 elected lawmakers in Starmer’s party – about a quarter of all Labor representatives in the House of Commons – have publicly said they want him to stand down or set a timetable for his exit, according to a Reuters vote.
The Observer The report, which did not name its sources, said Starmer had come to the conclusion that his position was no longer tenable after speaking to cabinet ministers, advisers, donors and union leaders.
Burnham is waiting in the wings
Burnham, a 56-year-old career politician, is seen by many in Labor as the most likely successor to Starmer – whether through a negotiated transfer of power or a formal leadership contest.
Having built a power base within Labor as mayor of Greater Manchester in northern England, he comfortably saw off the threat from Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist party to win an election for a vacant parliamentary seat on Friday.
Burnham did not immediately make a formal challenge to Starmer, but used his victory address to promise a new path for the country. His allies have called on Starmer to agree to step down and hand over power voluntarily.
Former health secretary Wes Streeting has also said he is willing to challenge Starmer.
The Times the newspaper reported on Saturday that Burnham would fire Finance Minister Rachel Reeves if he were to become prime minister after his advisers concluded she did not represent a sufficient change of direction.
Reuters could not immediately verify this report.
