Keir Starmer's leadership is under severe pressure as senior cabinet ministers have urged him to set out a timetable for his departure. The Guardian understands that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Defence Secretary John Healey, and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy were among those who spoke to the Prime Minister on Monday. Some advised him to oversee an orderly transition of power following crushing election defeats that threaten his premiership.
Others discussed taking a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might follow, while a few, including Richard Hermer and Steve Reed, urged him to fight on. 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.”
More than 70 Labour MPs have publicly called for Starmer to stand down, representing 25% of the party’s backbenchers. Among them were close allies of Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who urged a “swift” timetable, though a friend suggested Streeting had “no plans to pull the house down”. Supporters of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham also published letters calling for the Prime Minister to go.
Angela Rayner appeared to back Burnham, arguing that blocking him from standing in a by-election had been a mistake. Sources on Labour’s ruling national executive committee suggested they could take a different course next time. Meanwhile, Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds spent the day in Downing Street conveying the mood among backbenchers.
In a speech earlier on Monday, Starmer said he would not resign and would prove his doubters wrong. “I take responsibility for not walking away, not plunging our country into chaos, as the Tories did time and again,” he said. “A Labour government would never be forgiven for inflicting that on our country again.”
