Labour in Turmoil: Senior Ministers Tell Starmer to Set Resignation Timetable

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is fighting for his political future tonight as senior cabinet ministers, including the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, have told him to set out a timetable for his resignation following a catastrophic set of local election results.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper have both been in to see the Prime Minister to tell him it is time to set out a departure schedule, according to sources. Other cabinet ministers, including Steve Reed and Pat McFadden, have been urging Starmer to fight on.

Justice Secretary David Lammy, a long-term friend of Starmer, does not want the Prime Minister to stand down and has been calling around ministers — not to force them to go public in support, but to understand where they stand. Jonathan Reynolds, the Chief Whip, has also been at Starmer’s side inside Number 10 tonight, weighing up options.

The crisis, which one cabinet minister described as “disorderly,” has seen four junior members of government resign and more than 70 Labour MPs publicly call on Starmer to step aside. The minister warned: “I think the Labour Party is about to put itself out of power for a serious period of time by repeating the mistakes of the Tories.”

In an early morning speech intended to be make-or-break, Starmer acknowledged he had let Labour voters down. “Truth be told, I’m not sure that they believe that we care,” he said. “I’m not sure they believe that we see their lives.”

Asked why he had not stepped aside after losing nearly 1,500 councillors and 40 councils — and losing Wales — Starmer replied: “What we witnessed with the last government was the chaos of constantly changing leaders and it cost this country a huge amount. I acknowledge that we’ve lost brilliant representatives … But I also have a responsibility to deliver the change that we were elected to deliver.”

Former minister Catherine West has written to all MPs to canvas support for a leadership race, collecting names to call on the Prime Minister to set a timetable for the election of a new leader in September. Former deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has also called for the return of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, saying: “It was a mistake that the leadership of our party should put right.”

One backbench MP said: “Starmer is on very borrowed time … I don’t think we saw a plan from the Prime Minister this morning. I think it’s time for us to look for new leadership.”

While some cabinet members still try to hold the line — with one saying, “I’m confident he will still be Prime Minister at the end of this year” — that line is getting harder to hold. Discipline has completely broken down in the party.

Starmer remains at Number 10 tonight weighing up his options ahead of a cabinet meeting tomorrow. As one observer noted: “If you lose the confidence of your backbenches … even if you want to carry on, it just becomes unsustainable.”

The next 24 hours are described as “very tense and uncertain.”