British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to step down after Labour’s crushing local election losses triggered a major internal revolt and growing demands for leadership change.
WEBDESK – MEDIABITES NEWS l LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing growing calls to resign as leader of the Labour Party following one of the party’s worst performances in last week’s local elections.
Starmer, who has been prime minister for less than two years, spent Tuesday consulting senior colleagues ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting amid deepening political turmoil within his party.
According to British media reports, several senior cabinet members, including Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, privately urged Starmer to announce a timetable for his departure.
Nearly 80 Labour lawmakers from across different factions of the party have reportedly called on Starmer to step aside, potentially triggering a leadership contest.
Senior minister Darren Jones said Starmer was listening to colleagues and discussing his future, but declined to confirm whether the prime minister was considering resignation.
“He’s listening to colleagues, and he’s talking to colleagues. I can’t get ahead of any decision he may or may not take,” Jones told Times Radio.
Starmer had attempted to strengthen his position on Monday by promising to govern with greater urgency and boldness to address Britain’s economic and political challenges.
However, the speech failed to calm growing unrest within Labour, as more lawmakers publicly questioned his leadership shortly afterwards.
The political uncertainty also pushed Britain’s borrowing costs higher, reflecting investor concerns over instability within the government.
Starmer warned that another Labour leadership battle could damage the party and revive the political chaos Britain experienced after the country voted to leave the European Union nearly a decade ago.
The embattled leader is Britain’s fourth prime minister in the past five years. The crisis comes just a day before King Charles III is scheduled to outline the government’s legislative agenda during a major parliamentary ceremony.
