Sir Keir Starmer is under sustained pressure amid reports he could stand down next week as a leadership threat from Andy Burnham looms. The Prime Minister has repeatedly vowed not to walk away from his post, even as public talk of a leadership contest or handing power to Mr Burnham has gained pace among Labour figures since he won the Makerfield by-election on Friday.
Growing Backbench Revolt
The number of Labour MPs calling for Starmer to go has since topped 100 – just under a quarter of the party’s MPs – and includes some who signed a letter warning against a leadership contest just last month. Labour grandees have also spoken out, with former home secretary Alan Johnson saying Sir Keir should step aside and Lord Falconer saying he has “no authority” because it is assumed he will be replaced.
The Prime Minister is understood to be at Chequers with his wife, Lady Victoria, this weekend, and is reportedly reflecting on how to proceed. A senior ally told The Sun they believe there is “just a 25% chance he fights on now”, while The Observer cited a Labour peer who said they think Sir Keir sees that “stopping ‘chaos’ (as he rightly put it) is now not possible by staying.”
Potential Timetable for Departure
Senior Labour figures believe a “clear statement” could come as early as Monday, according to The Observer. No 10 said Sir Keir’s position remained unchanged from Friday, when he said he will not “walk away” from Downing Street and that he plans to stand in any potential contest. He warned Labour staffers during a call on Friday lunchtime to avoid “plunging our party and our country into chaos by turning on each other and tearing apart our party and our movement.”
He is understood to have spoken to a number of Cabinet ministers on Friday, some of whom are reported to have told him he should set out a timetable for his departure. Some in Westminster believe a contest could begin as early as next week, but allies of Mr Burnham favour a longer wait to allow them to prepare for government.
It is understood that Mr Burnham’s camp wants Sir Keir to set out his plans in the coming days but would accept a timetable that kept him in No 10 until September. The incoming Makerfield MP is expected to be in Westminster on Monday to be sworn into the Commons. He is reportedly planning to speak to Sir Keir afterwards and present him with a list of backers – which he is said to be seeking to get up to 200 – in a bid to press him to step down and set out a transition.
Key Figures Urge Handover
In a blow to Sir Keir, Labour peer Charlie Falconer said Sir Keir has “absolutely no authority” because “everybody assumes” Mr Burnham is going to challenge him and win. He said he would advise Sir Keir not to stand in a leadership contest and instead agree a handover, preferably before the parliamentary recess on July 16. And former deputy leader Baroness Harriet Harman, who Sir Keir appointed as a special envoy for women and girls, said there is a “sense of collective movement” from within Labour and that she expected Sir Keir to leave office and for Mr Burnham to take his place. She has urged the party to move faster than aiming for a timetable ending in September, telling Sky News’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast ministers could not be left “in a state of paralysis all through the summer.”
