The Prime Minister is facing mounting pressure as reports claim he could stand down as early as next week. Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly said he will not leave Number 10 but, following Andy Burnham's win in the Makerfield by-election earlier this week, he continues to face growing pressure to walk away.
Burnham's victory fuels leadership crisis
Following Mr Burnham's win on Friday, the Prime Minister himself said he would be in the leadership race assuming the soon-to-be Makerfield MP would challenge him. Now, the number of Labour MPs calling for Starmer to step down has topped 100 - just under a quarter of the party's MPs - and includes a signed letter warning against a leadership contest just last month.
The party's MPs are not the only ones to voice their desire for the Prime Minister to step down, with Labour grandees also having spoken out. Former home secretary Alan Johnson said Starmer should step aside and Lord Falconer stated he has "no authority" because people assume he will be replaced.
Senior figures urge clear statement
A Labour peer told The Observer they think Starmer sees that “stopping ‘chaos’ (as he rightly put it) is now not possible by staying.” Senior Labour figures believe a “clear statement” could come as early as Monday, according to The Observer.
Number 10 said Sir Keir’s position remained unchanged from Friday, when he said he would not "walk away" from Downing Street and that he plans to stand in any potential contest. He warned Labour staffers during a Friday lunchtime call to avoid "plunging our party and our country into chaos by turning on each other and tearing apart our party and our movement".
The Prime Minister is understood to have spoken to a number of Cabinet ministers on Friday, some of whom reportedly told him he should set out a timetable for his departure.
Burnham camp prepares for transition
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 Number 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.
Labour peers urge swift 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.
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”.
