UK Labour leader Starmer remains defiant amid growing calls for his resignation.

3 weeks ago 3

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UK PM Starmer defiant as calls to quit grow

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his senior team on Tuesday that he was continuing to govern the country, despite increasing demands from ministers and MPs for his resignation.

The Labour premier invited any potential challengers to contest his leadership, yet his standing appeared fragile after two junior ministers quit the government, a development that could set off a chain reaction.

“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered,” Starmer said to ministers during intensive discussions about his future, noting that no individual has yet stepped forward to contest him.

“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet,” he added, describing the day as the most pivotal of his nearly two‑year premiership.

– ‘Do the right thing’ –

At least 80 of Labour’s 403 members of parliament have now called for Starmer to quit immediately, or to set out a timetable for his resignation.

Starmer’s vow on Monday to keep fighting and to prove his doubters wrong did little to quiet the clamor for his removal.

Miatta Fahnbulleh on Tuesday became the first junior minister to resign, urging Starmer “to do the right thing for the country and the party and set a timetable for an orderly transition”.

Jess Phillips then stepped down as safeguarding minister, writing to Starmer that she was not seeing the change “I, and the country expect”.

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood late Monday became the most senior government figure to advise Starmer to consider his position, according to UK media reports.

Newspapers indicated that other senior ministers, including deputy prime minister David Lammy and Yvette Cooper, had spoken to Starmer about his standing.

– Growing pressure –

Pressure on Starmer has risen sharply since Labour suffered disastrous local‑election results last week, losing hundreds of councillors to the hard‑right Reform UK party and the left‑wing populist Greens.

Labour also lost its century‑old dominance in Wales and was heavily beaten by the Scottish National Party in the devolved parliament in Edinburgh.

The outcomes added to a difficult period for Starmer, who has been embroiled in controversy over his decision to appoint—and then dismiss—Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.

Mandelson, a former associate of U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, had already prompted calls for Starmer’s resignation earlier in the year when he was appointed.

Starmer has also struggled to deliver the promised economic growth needed to ease the cost‑of‑living pressures facing British citizens.

On Monday, Starmer pledged that Labour would be “better” and bolder in an effort to placate disgruntled voters seeking change.

Nevertheless, dozens of Labour MPs later urged him to step down, including four government aides who resigned their posts.

– ‘Steadfast’ –

Several cabinet ministers expressed support for Starmer after the meeting, with Defence Secretary John Healey warning that “more instability is not in Britain’s interest”.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said he had her “full support”, while Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle described Starmer as “showing really steadfast leadership”.

Housing minister Steve Reed also noted that a leadership challenge had not been triggered, adding, “so we all intend to get on with our jobs”.

Under party rules, any challenger would need the backing of 81 Labour MPs—20 percent of the party’s parliamentary cohort—to trigger a leadership contest.

Starmer has pledged to contest any such challenge.

A contest would likely ignite damaging infighting, with MPs from the left and right of the party vying to position their preferred candidate or to shore up Starmer.