Defeat in local and regional elections continues to have a brutal impact
More than 60 Labor MPs have publicly called for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign in recent days following the Labor Party’s disastrous performance in Thursday’s local and regional elections.
Starmer attempted to respond to internal criticism with a speech on Monday, in which he outlined his Government’s priorities for the rest of its term and promised, among other things, to place the United Kingdom “at the center of Europe” after Brexit.
However, the Labor leader’s words seemed insufficient to contain the pressure he faces within his own party.
According to the BBC, by the end of the afternoon, at least 64 deputies had explicitly asked for their resignation, either immediately or with time to find a suitable replacement.
Labor MP Catherine West issued an ultimatum on Saturday, stating that if none of the current ministers in Starmer’s cabinet stood for the leadership, she would personally try to gather the necessary support from 81 people, representing 20% of the total number of Labor MPs, to force a leadership election.
West today stressed that Starmer’s speech was “too little, too late” and formally notified other MPs that he was collecting names to ask the Prime Minister to set a timetable for electing a new leader in September.
Among the main candidates to replace Starmer is the current mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, but to become prime minister he would first need to win a seat in Parliament.
Others suggest that the current Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, from the party’s right wing, also has ambitions to lead the Labor Party.
Among the latest to join calls for Starmer to resign were four Labor MPs, who also resigned en masse this afternoon from their roles as advisers and cabinet secretaries.
Joe Morris, a close aide to Streeting, resigned on Thursday and called on the prime minister to set a quick timetable for his departure.
Naushabah Khan subsequently resigned as Starmer’s cabinet secretary, calling for the “rebuilding of trust” under new leadership, as did Melani Ward, private secretary to Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy.
Doubts about Starmer’s continued leadership of the British Government increased after the loss of almost 1,500 councilors in local elections in England and the heavy defeat in its historic stronghold of Wales, governed by the Labor Party since 1999, where they became the third most voted force, with just 9 seats.
In Scotland, it reduced representation in the Edinburgh Parliament from 21 to 17 members, while in Wales it lost control of the regional parliament, going from 44 to just nine seats.
