Newcastle East and Wallsend MP Mary Glindon has called for a general election following Keir Starmer's resignation as Prime Minister and Labour Party leader, warning that her party would be "hypocrites" if it installed a new leader without a public vote. Starmer announced his resignation on Monday morning, less than two years after leading Labour to a historic election victory.
MP Warns of Hypocrisy
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Glindon said Labour had previously demanded the Conservatives call an election when they changed leaders, and must now do the same. "We are hypocrites [if an election is not called]," she said. "People voted for us under Keir Starmer. I am quite upset that we have let the public down and upset the democratic process."
Glindon, who confirmed she would not endorse any candidate in the upcoming leadership contest, expressed deep disappointment at Starmer's departure. "I am gutted, absolutely gutted," she said. "I know some things have gone wrong, but I was hoping against hope that he would not resign."
Leadership Race Underway
Andy Burnham, who won the Makerfield by-election last week, is now considered the frontrunner to become the UK's seventh Prime Minister in a decade. Labour's North East mayor, Kim McGuinness, publicly endorsed Burnham last week and praised Starmer for putting "country before party."
McGuinness acknowledged the government's failings in connecting with the public. "What the Government never did was connect to people," she said. "The next Prime Minister has to really learn from this – it is not enough to serve the nation daily, we have to have a story to tell that connects with the public."
Political Reactions
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage immediately demanded a general election, warning that "if Labour thinks it can shove another professional politician into No 10, it has another thing coming." McGuinness responded by calling Farage "the most professional of professional politicians" and part of "the establishment."
McGuinness also stressed the importance of the North East's voice in future government. "The people of the North East want to know their voice is heard in Government and that change is coming as a result," she said. "That's the starting position for all future talks with the Government, and I'll be fighting to get even more for our region out of the next Prime Minister."
