Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly facing a plot from Labour MPs to oust him from office following what is expected to be a disastrous set of local election results. Backbenchers who won their seats in the 2024 election are planning to push for the prime minister's resignation in an open letter, reminiscent of a round-robin letter presented to Sir Tony Blair two decades ago.
According to The Times, MPs are blaming Sir Keir for the outcome of this week's local elections and are asking him to set a date for his departure. The newspaper reported that several cabinet ministers are aware of the plot, though none have joined the limited number of potential signatories.
Housing minister Steve Reed insisted on Tuesday that MPs “want this psychodrama to stop” and warned against the party “doomscrolling through leaders.” Speaking to Sky News, he said: “What I'm getting from MPs is they want this psychodrama to stop. They want to focus on what's going to get them re-elected. What's going to get me re-elected is, have we delivered the change we promised at the general election in July 2024?” He added: “Let's focus on what the British people want. We can't be like the Tories and doom scroll through leaders; it ends in annihilation. We've got to focus on the British public, not ourselves.”
Writing in The Observer at the weekend, Sir Keir urged his party not to repeat the Conservative Party's mistake of “descending into political infighting.” He stated: “We have a choice. We could sink into the politics of grievance and division. Or we could rise to this moment – together – in a national effort that matches the scale of the threats and turbulence we face. When the nation rallied together to deal with Covid, the last government could have channelled that spirit to build a better nation. But instead, they descended into political infighting and let the country slump back to the old status quo. Not this time.”
The proposed open letter would echo the drafting of a round-robin letter by normally loyal Labour MPs calling for Sir Tony Blair to step down in September 2006. Then-defence minister Tom Watson and a string of junior government members quit their posts in a bid to force the New Labour prime minister to step down or name a departure date. Sir Tony ultimately made a statement saying he would leave office in 12 months.
This development comes amid rumblings of a potential leadership tilt by health secretary Wes Streeting, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, or Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. Allies of Ms Rayner are confident she would gain the support of the 81 MPs required to launch a challenge – a number Mr Streeting is also said to have met, though neither is believed to want to be the first to move. Meanwhile, Mr Burnham has been tipped as a party favourite to succeed the prime minister, but he would face several logistical obstacles to return to Westminster should he seek to mount a bid for No 10.
