UK Prime Minister Starmer remains defiant despite increasing calls for his resignation

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his senior team on Tuesday that he was continuing to govern, despite increasing pressure from ministers and MPs for him to resign.

The Labour leader challenged any potential rivals to contest his leadership, even as two junior ministers quit, a development that could set off further departures.

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

“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 critical of his nearly two‑year premiership.

– ‘Do the right thing’ –

At least 80 of Labour’s 403 MPs have now called for Starmer to resign immediately or to outline a timetable for an orderly transition.

Starmer’s pledge on Monday to “fight on” and prove his critics wrong did little to ease the calls for his departure.

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

Subsequently, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips quit, writing to Starmer that she was not seeing the change “I, and the country expect.”

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood, who resigned late Monday, was reported as the most senior cabinet member to advise Starmer to reconsider his position.

Media reports indicated that other senior ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and Yvette Cooper, had also spoken with Starmer about his future.

– Growing pressure –

Pressure on Starmer intensified after Labour’s disastrous performance in last week’s local elections, where the party lost hundreds of council seats to the hard‑right Reform UK party and the left‑wing Greens.

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

The setbacks 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 convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, had previously drawn criticism, and Starmer earlier this year survived calls to quit over Mandelson’s appointment.

Starmer has also struggled to deliver the economic growth promised to alleviate the cost‑of‑living pressures facing many Britons.

On Monday, he promised that Labour would be “better” and bolder in order to address voter frustration.

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

– ‘Steadfast’ –

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

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said she gave him her “full support,” while Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle described Starmer’s leadership as “really steadfast.”

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

Under party rules, a challenger would need the backing of 81 Labour MPs—20 percent of the parliamentary party—to initiate a leadership contest.

Starmer has pledged to confront any challenge.

A contest would likely generate damaging infighting, with MPs from the party’s left and right vying to position their preferred candidates or to shore up Starmer.

– Who could succeed? –

Speculation has long linked Health Secretary Wes Streeting and former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner with potential moves to unseat Starmer, though neither enjoys universal support within Labour.

Another frequently mentioned contender, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, cannot stand because he does not hold a seat in Parliament.

Some of Burnham’s supporters are urging Starmer to set a departure date that would give their candidate time to secure