More than a hundred Labour Party politicians have called on Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer to set out plans to resign from his post following this week’s disastrous defeat in the local elections to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
The knives are out for Prime Minister Starmer, who is now embroiled in a desperate fight to extend his political life after a historically poor performance in the rough British equivalent of a midterm election this week. Starmer’s Labour suffered heavy losses in councils across England, losing control of traditional “red wall” seats to Farage’s Reform party, while losing power in Wales for the first time since a local parliament was established nearly three decades ago.
Over the weekend, some 110 Labour councillors and failed council candidates, reportedly from the party’s “soft left” wing, said the election results showed the party needs “new leadership to take us into the next election.”
“We fear that inaction serves only Reform UK and risks handing the keys to No 10 to Nigel Farage. The British public would not forgive us for this,” they wrote according to London’s Daily Telegraph.
“For the sake of the communities that our party was founded to represent, we urge you to announce a date for your departure and to guarantee an orderly process to elect your successor,” the Labour politicians added.
Meanwhile, nearly 40 Labour Members of Parliament have also openly called for Prime Minister Starmer to resign, including the longest-serving Labour MP in the House of Commons, Clive Betts, and Connor Naismith, who stands with the pro-working-class Blue Labour caucus.
Also among those calling for Starmer to step down was former government minister Catherine West, who has vowed to launch a leadership challenge against the PM by Monday should no one else step forward, in an apparent shot across the bow against leading challenger Andy Burnham, who, as Mayor of Greater Manchester rather than a member of parliament, cannot currently stand for prime minister.
For his part, Prime Minister Starmer has argued that the party stands its best chance at political survival with him at the helm, rather than tacking to the left or right with a replacement leader.
Speaking to The Observer on Saturday, Starmer said that he hopes to be in power for the next eight years, meaning that he hopes to lead the party to victory in the next general election in 2029. In the interview, the PM pitched further realignment with the European Union as the chief goal for the rest of his first term in office, likely indicating a political showdown with Brexit leader Nigel Farage over the issue.
For his part, Mr Farage has predicted that Starmer will likely be removed from office by “mid-summer”.
In a bid to stave off challenges to his leadership, the Prime Minister brought in to “old guard” figures from Labour past, including former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has been tasked to advise Starmer on global finance despite having presided over the 2008 financial crisis.
Starmer also tapped former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman as his “Adviser on Women and Girls,” despite the veteran Labour politician not having a firm idea on what actually constitutes a woman.