Sir Keir Starmer is facing growing calls to stand down after Friday’s disastrous local and devolved election results – the worst on record for the Labour Party.
The prime minister has said he will not resign following the results, and in a fightback speech on Monday vowed to “face up to the big challenges ahead”.
But as 90 Labour MPs have now called on Sir Keir to stand down (either now or at some point soon) and make way for a leadership contest. The list continues to grow with a wave of statements issued on Monday evening, as the prime minister remains defiant.
Amid the drama, over 100 Labour MPs have signed a statement urging Sir Keir Starmer not to stand down, saying “this is no time for a leadership contest” and revealing a fresh split in the party.
Health secretary Wes Streeting, seen as a leadership hopeful, is reported to be meeting with the prime minister tomorrow morning after four ministers resigned and called on Sir Keir to step down.
Full list of Labour MPs to either call on Sir Keir to quit immediately or set a timetable for his resignation.
Dr Zubir Ahmed, minister for health, innovation and safety, became the latest minister to quit and call for Sir Keir to step down, saying: “Our work is urgent. I now ask the prime minister for the sake of that urgency and that national duty to step aside and set a timetable for an expedient and orderly transition to new leadership.”
His resignation follows Jess Phillips earlier on Tuesday who resigned from her role as safeguarding minister and wrote to the prime minister: “I think you are a good man fundamentally, who cares about the right things however I have seen first-hand how that is not enough”
She added: “…I’m not seeing the change I think I, and the country expect, and so cannot continue to serve as a minister under the current leadership.”
Ahmed and Phillips are two of four ministers to resign, in addition to Miatta Fahnbulleh, former devolution minister, and Alex Davies-Jones, former minister for victims and tackling violence against women and girls.
There is no formal confidence vote procedure to oust a Labour leader. Any challenger to Sir Keir would instead require the support of 81 MPs – 20 per cent of the party in the Commons – to trigger a contest.
These MPs would all have to back the same candidate to succeed the prime minister.
Four ministerial aides have handed in their resignations amid the chaos, including Joe Morris, a ministerial aide to Wes Streeting, widely considered a potential leadership contender.
Tom Rutland, a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to environment secretary Emma Reynolds and Cabinet Office PPS Naushabah Khan also resigned while calling on Sir Keir to step down.
Both former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and health secretary Wes Streeting are seen as potential leadership contenders, although both are yet to make a move against the prime minister.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is also seen as a candidate, although he is still not an MP after Sir Keir prevented him from becoming Labour’s candidate in February’s Gorton and Denton by-election.
On Sunday, Ms Rayner said that Labour’s approach “isn’t working, and it needs to change”, adding that the party should not have blocked Mr Burnham from attempting to become an MP.
Labour MP Catherine West called on cabinet members over the weekend to challenge Sir Keir by Monday, threatening to start formally gathering names to trigger a contest.
After Sir Keir’s speech on Monday morning, in which he vowed to prove doubters wrong and would not “walk away”, Ms West backed down from a leadership bid, but urged Labour MPs to call on the prime minister to set out a timetable for his resignation by September.
The growing list of Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) members who have spoken out against the prime minister goes beyond the list of usually vocal opponents, echoing the 100-plus strong rebellion over welfare cuts that the cabinet faced last July.
Among them are former transport secretary Louise Haigh, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and veteran MP Barry Gardiner.
Signalling for Sir Keir to resign, Jonathan Hinder, MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, claimed that the prime minister “has never been an electoral asset.”
He said on BBC Newsnight: “The blunt reality is, and every single Labour MP will tell you this, he has never been an electoral asset.
“Our best electoral asset was the unpopularity of the Conservatives and the fact that Reform split their vote and that is why I’m sat here today, most of all, but I don’t underestimate the amount of work he did.”
“I think he’s in it for the right reasons. I know his team worked incredibly hard, like we all did, to get us here, but we have to face the facts now,” he continued. “We need a new leader for the Labour Party and our country, most importantly, needs a new leader.”
Labour was elected with 411 seats at the 2024 general election – a 174-seat majority – marking the best performance for the party since 2001. With this many sitting MPs, it technically becomes harder for a leadership challenge to be launched against the prime minister, as 20 per cent of these members would be needed to nominate a contender, which translates to 81 MPs.
However, with the figure of Labour MPs voicing their calls publicly, it will be cause for huge concern within Downing Street.
