Sir Keir Starmer will promise sweeping changes to address the “big challenges” confronting the UK as he battles to save his job as Prime Minister. In a crucial speech on Monday, the Labour leader will insist his plan demonstrates “hope, urgency and exactly whose side we are on” following disastrous election results in England, Scotland and Wales that have put his position in peril.
The speech marks the start of a make-or-break week for his premiership. Labour MPs will be encouraged to endorse a leadership challenge if he fails to convince them he can reverse the party’s slump, which has seen votes and seats flow to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Zack Polanski’s Green Party. On Wednesday, the King’s Speech will outline the Government’s legislative priorities in Parliament.
Sir Keir will say: “To meet the challenges that our country faces, incremental change won’t cut it. On growth, defence, Europe, energy – we need a bigger response than we anticipated in 2024 because these are not ordinary times. Strength through fairness. It’s a core Labour argument. And you will see those values writ large in the King’s Speech. And you will see hope, urgency and exactly whose side we are on.”
The Prime Minister has acknowledged that the early part of his premiership was too gloomy, with ministers highlighting the dire state of the economy and public services without sufficiently emphasising plans to improve lives. “People need hope,” he will say. “We will face up to the big challenges and we will make the big arguments.”
Sir Keir will highlight efforts to rebuild ties with Brussels, stating: “This Labour Government will be defined by rebuilding our relationship and by putting Britain at the heart of Europe. So that we are stronger on the economy, on trade, on defence, you name it. Because standing shoulder to shoulder with the countries that most share our interests, our values and our enemies – that is the right choice for Britain, that is the Labour choice.”
Former minister Catherine West will decide whether to seek the 81 nominations from MPs for a leadership challenge if she remains “dissatisfied” after Sir Keir’s speech. She has made clear her campaign aims to force the Cabinet to back a candidate against Sir Keir rather than mount a credible bid for No 10 herself. However, MPs on Labour’s left have warned against her plan, arguing it could result in a Cabinet “stitch-up” rather than allowing members to vote on the next leader.
There are suspicions from the left that the move could trigger an early contest favouring Health Secretary Wes Streeting, as Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is still not an MP. Allies of Mr Streeting have pointed to results in Redbridge, the local authority in his constituency where Labour held on against pro-Gaza independents, showing he can retain his Westminster seat with a majority of just 528.
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said Sir Keir must “meet the moment and set out the change our country needs” as she called for Mr Burnham’s return to Parliament. Ms Rayner and Mr Burnham are seen as potential leadership contenders. Ms Rayner, the former deputy Labour leader, called for a shift to the left in a lengthy statement setting out her vision. “What we are doing isn’t working, and it needs to change. This may be our last chance,” she said.
The Mandelson scandal showed a “toxic culture of cronyism”, Labour is “in danger of becoming a party of the well-off, not working people” and “it is time to acknowledge that blocking Andy Burnham was a mistake”, she added. While Ms Rayner stopped short of calling for Sir Keir to go, dozens of MPs from across the party – not just the Prime Minister’s usual critics on the left – have demanded change at the top.
Former minister Josh Simons, who previously led the Labour Together think tank on the party’s right, said: “We Labour MPs must square up to the truth. These elections were not a normal mid-term drubbing, they were an unequivocal judgement that our actions do not meet the moment. To put the country first, the PM should lead an orderly transition. Senior figures across the party should urgently come together to agree a path forward.”
