Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to prove his doubters wrong after a former minister backed down from launching a leadership challenge but urged Labour MPs to call on the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for his resignation.
West Withdraws Challenge
Catherine West had previously said she would challenge Sir Keir for the party leadership as early as Monday afternoon in an attempt to force the Cabinet to put forward a replacement as prime minister. However, following a speech in which Sir Keir said he would not “walk away”, the former Foreign Office minister said she would now canvass support within the party for the Prime Minister setting out a timetable for his resignation by September.
In a statement, Ms West said: “I have listened to the Prime Minister’s speech this morning. I welcome the renewed energy and ideas. However, I have reluctantly concluded that this morning’s speech was too little too late.” She added that the election results showed the PM had “failed to inspire hope” and that an orderly transition was now best for the party and country.
Speaking to the Press Association, she said Sir Keir’s speech had been “heartfelt”, but it did not “change the mathematics of how many seats we lost on Thursday”.
Electoral Mauling
Speculation about the Prime Minister’s future has surged since Thursday’s elections that saw Labour lose almost 1,500 English councillors, go backwards in Scotland and slump to third in Wales. The electoral mauling has prompted a succession of Labour MPs to call for the Prime Minister to step down, or set out a timetable for his departure. So far, 48 Labour MPs have called for Sir Keir to go, and others have suggested they could do so if he does not change course rapidly.
Starmer’s Speech
In a speech in central London on Monday, Sir Keir said he took “responsibility” for the losses but insisted he would fight on. Facing down those calling for his resignation, Sir Keir said: “I’m not going to shy away from the fact that I’ve got some doubters, including in my own party. I’m not going to shy away from the fact that I have to prove them wrong, and I will.”
As the Prime Minister battled to save his job, Monday’s speech had been billed as setting out sweeping changes needed to tackle the “big challenges” facing Britain. Sir Keir set out a number of measures including legislation to nationalise British Steel, a ban on “far-right agitators” coming to the UK for a planned march on Saturday and a plan to put the UK “at the heart of Europe”.
He cast the current political moment as a “battle for the soul” of the UK, warning that if Labour failed the country would head down “a very dark path”. He said: “This is nothing less than a battle for the soul of our nation and I want to be crystal clear about how we will win it because we cannot win as a weaker version of Reform or the Greens. We can only win as a stronger version of Labour, a mainstream party of power, not protest.”
Mixed Reactions
A handful of backbenchers spoke up in support of the Prime Minister in the immediate aftermath of the speech, with Macclesfield MP Tim Roca and Gedling’s Michael Payne saying Sir Keir had demonstrated he understood “the scale of the challenge” facing the country. But others continued to call for his resignation.
North Northumberland MP David Smith, who has been the UK’s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief since 2024, said Labour owed “a debt of gratitude” to Sir Keir but could not “carry on with the approach we have taken” since the general election. Blue Labour, an internal pressure group founded by Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman, also called on Monday for the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for his departure.
Burnham Speculation
Others have looked towards Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, saying he should be allowed to return to Parliament. But Sir Keir would not be drawn on whether he would support Mr Burnham’s return to Westminster, saying it was a matter for Labour’s national executive committee (NEC). The NEC, dominated by supporters of the Prime Minister, blocked Mr Burnham from contesting the Gorton and Denton by-election earlier this year, with the formerly safe Labour seat going on to be won by the Greens.
In a speech to the Communication Workers Union on Monday, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner – herself regarded as a potential leadership contender – said the decision to block Mr Burnham should be “put right”. She said: “We as a party have to do better than this and we can only prove we mean our Labour values by putting the common interest ahead of factionalism. And we can start by accepting that Andy Burnham should never have been blocked. It was a mistake that the leadership of our party should put right.”
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan also backed Mr Burnham’s return to Parliament, telling PA this should happen “sooner rather than later”. But Sir Sadiq stressed he was not calling for a change in leadership, only a “change in the pace of delivery”. Mr Burnham is yet to comment publicly on reports he intends to attempt a return to Westminster, and has pulled out of an event he was due to speak at on Tuesday morning.
Polling and Market Reaction
A Survation poll for Compass, conducted before the local elections, found 55% of the British public think Sir Keir should stand down, with 22% thinking he can turn things around. The poll of 2,017 adults found Mr Burnham is the favourite to take over. UK Government bonds and the pound came under pressure in a largely negative financial market reaction to Sir Keir’s speech. Yields on 30-year government bonds, also known as gilts, rose 10 basis points to 5.68%, while 10-year gilt yields were up 8 basis points at 4.99%. Sterling also weakened, falling 0.2% to 1.36 US dollars and was 0.1% down at 1.15 euros.
Conservative Response
Responding to the speech, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said it was “sad to watch”, adding: “With so many resets, even his reset button needs a reset. But I do not take pleasure in watching the Prime Minister flounder. The country needs leadership, not another speech from a man who clearly knows something has gone badly wrong, but still can’t explain why.” Mrs Badenoch also dismissed Labour’s “pretenders jostling for his job”, saying: “They are busy arguing over who should drive the car, but the truth is they are all heading in the wrong direction. They have no vision for the future.”
