Naushabah Khan has resigned as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the Cabinet Office, becoming the latest Labour aide to step down amid mounting pressure on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. In her resignation statement, Ms Khan called for “new leadership, so that we can rebuild trust and deliver the better future that the British people voted for.”
Resignation Announcement
The Gillingham and Rainham MP announced her decision on Monday, joining a growing number of Labour MPs calling for Sir Keir to resign. She told Times Radio that resigning “hasn’t been an easy decision” and that she had been a committed Labour member for years but had become “deeply frustrated with how things are working at the minute.”
Context of Resignations
Ms Khan’s resignation follows those of Joe Morris, a PPS to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and Tom Rutland, a PPS to Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, who both urged the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for his departure. Sally Jameson, a PPS to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, has also joined around 60 Labour MPs calling for Sir Keir to resign.
Full Statement
In her full statement, Ms Khan said: “The message from last week’s elections was clear: the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the public. Since being elected to serve the people of Gillingham & Rainham, I have always and will always put the interests of my constituents and our country first. It is with that commitment in mind that I have taken the difficult decision to resign my role as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Cabinet Office.
“Our country faces unprecedented challenges. The people of Gillingham & Rainham and the country deserve leadership that can deliver on scale. I did not enter politics to stand by while we fail. We need a clear change of direction now and no game playing. A Labour Government can and will rise to meet the moment if we act now. I am calling for new leadership, so that we can rebuild trust and deliver the better future that the British people voted for.”
Reaction and Analysis
Ms Khan acknowledged Sir Keir’s role in leading Labour to victory in the 2024 general election but argued that recent local election results showed the party had lost public trust. “When we speak to people out there on the doorsteps, we hear time and time again that we don’t trust your leader, we don’t support your leader, we can’t back this,” she said. She added that the party needed to “rethink how we do this” and that the Prime Minister’s response earlier in the day had not been sufficient.
