UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s hold on power appeared increasingly fragile on Monday as cabinet ministers urged him to set out a departure timetable and more than 70 Labour MPs publicly called for him to resign.
The pressure followed heavy election defeats that placed his premiership in serious jeopardy and raised fresh doubts over whether he could lead Labour into the next general election.
Starmer, however, warned that the country would “never forgive” Labour if it plunged into the turmoil of a leadership contest, insisting he would prove critics both inside and outside the party wrong.
Two senior cabinet ministers, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, told Starmer he should oversee an orderly transition of power.
At least two other cabinet figures, believed to be John Healey and David Lammy, discussed with Starmer the need to take a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might follow. Others, including Richard Hermer and Steve Reed, urged him to continue fighting.
One cabinet minister said: “In the end Keir has listened to cabinet ministers – there are differences about where this will go and what is in the best interests of party and country. He’ll have to make a decision about what he’s going to do before cabinet tomorrow.”
Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds is understood to have spent the day in Downing Street, relaying concerns from backbench MPs who had not yet gone public.
Outside the cabinet, close allies of Wes Streeting publicly urged Starmer to resign and called on him to set out a “swift” timetable, in what appeared to be a coordinated move. However, one close friend suggested the health secretary had “no plans to pull the house down”.
Supporters of Andy Burnham also released letters calling for Starmer to step aside. Sources on Labour’s ruling national executive committee, which blocked the Greater Manchester mayor from standing in the Gorton and Denton byelection in January, suggested the party could take a different approach next time.
“The officers group could move if there was clearly a question mark over political authority. But there would have to be a byelection called first before we know whether that is the case,” one said. Another said “things could move” should Starmer clearly not have support to continue as PM.
Several sources said some cabinet ministers were furious with Burnham and Streeting, accusing them of accelerating the crisis by allowing allies to call for Starmer’s departure. “They’ve got their hands all over this,” one said.
Angela Rayner, whose own prospects of running remain uncertain until her tax affairs are resolved, appeared to throw her support behind Burnham, arguing that blocking his return had been a mistake and that he should be allowed back into parliament.
Rayner’s standing as a potential successor has weakened in recent weeks, while Burnham’s has strengthened. Allies suggested she was no longer determined to seek the top job herself and could instead become part of a wider team, although she would still be expected to run if Burnham were unable to do so.
Starmer and his allies struggled to contain the rebellion, in contrast with February, when cabinet ministers rallied behind him after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to step down.
He survived one immediate threat after Catherine West, viewed as a possible stalking-horse candidate, changed course and said she was instead gathering names of MPs who supported an orderly transition.
More than 70 Labour MPs, including several junior backbenchers from across the party, said Starmer had failed to convince them he could lead Labour into the next election. Together, they represent about 25% of the party’s backbenchers.
In a speech earlier on Monday, Starmer said he would not resign, vowed to prove his doubters wrong and insisted he would fight any leadership challenge.
“I take responsibility for not walking away, not plunging our country into chaos, as the Tories did time and again, chaos that did lasting damage to this country. A Labour government would never be forgiven for inflicting that on our country again,” he said.
“I know that people are frustrated by the state of Britain, frustrated by politics, and some people are frustrated with me. I know I have my doubters, and I know I need to prove them wrong, and I will.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is understood to have urged Starmer a week ago to consider setting out a timetable for his departure.
One cabinet ally of Starmer called on MPs to pause and reflect. “Everybody needs to calm down and take a deep breath. If you want to be seen as a credible governing party, the idea that you come into power promising stability, and then 20 months later decapitate your leader, is just madness,” they said.
However, Starmer’s speech failed to stop a steady stream of statements from MPs calling for him to announce an orderly transition.
At lunchtime on Monday, Chris Curtis, co-chair of the Labour Growth Group, once regarded as a loyalist bloc, said Starmer could no longer deliver the change the country needed. “I therefore think it’s time for us to look for new leadership,” he said.
“And I think what that means is the prime minister rightly now setting out a timetable and an orderly process for a leadership election, and one in which Labour has a discussion about the vision for the country and what changes we think are needed in order to face the very real challenges that Britain currently faces.”
Curtis became the first MP known to be close to Streeting to call for Starmer to go. Others followed, including Scottish Labour MP Alan Gemmell, Streeting’s constituency neighbour Jas Athwal and Streeting’s parliamentary private secretary, Joe Morris.
Streeting’s allies said he had no plans to speak on Monday and repeated his support for the prime minister. However, some MPs believe he is close to declaring a leadership bid. Others suggested a senior figure on the soft left, such as Miliband, could run in an attempt to stop him.
Also on Monday, four junior frontbenchers, all parliamentary private secretaries, resigned and called for Starmer to go: Morris from the Department of Health, Tom Rutland from the Department for Environment, Naushabah Khan from the Cabinet Office and Melanie Ward from the Ministry of Justice.
After the resignations, Downing Street quickly announced a new group of PPS appointments, including Sean Woodcock to the Cabinet Office and David Burton-Sampson to the Department of Health.
Other MPs calling for Starmer to resign included several from the 2024 intake, among them David Smith, Luke Myer, Markus Campbell-Savours, Tony Vaughan, Fred Thomas and Sarah Smith. Former ministers Catherine McKinnell and Justin Madders also joined the calls.
