Keir Starmer has declared he will not walk away from his responsibilities as prime minister and will fight any leadership challenge, as he faces mounting pressure from within his own party. In a make-or-break speech, he acknowledged his doubters but insisted he would prove them wrong, warning that Labour faces “very dangerous opponents”.
The prime minister outlined a series of policy pledges, including seeking a new deal with the European Union featuring a youth mobility scheme, nationalising British Steel, and introducing a youth guarantee of jobs or training. He said these measures were necessary to counter the threat posed by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which he described as “very dangerous”.
Starmer admitted that Labour’s early messaging had been too gloomy, failing to convince voters of the change they would bring. He said he now knew the party needed a bigger response and must inject more hope and optimism into its message, while taking a robust approach to the right.
The speech comes as Labour MPs believe health secretary Wes Streeting could imminently launch a leadership challenge, though his allies deny this. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is also seeking a route back to parliament to run for the leadership, though he may be blocked by the party’s national executive committee.
Starmer’s address follows historically poor election results for Labour, including coming third in Wales, failing to make progress in Scotland, and losing over 1,500 councillors in England, with councils such as Sunderland and Barnsley falling to Reform and London councils like Lambeth and Hackney to the Greens.
