Sir Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure from within Labour after a wave of election losses triggered a growing rebellion among MPs, ministerial aides, and senior party figures questioning whether he can remain in office.
Tensions inside the government deepened after reports emerged that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was among several cabinet members urging the prime minister to outline a timetable for his departure. While some ministers continue to support Sir Keir publicly, divisions are becoming increasingly difficult to contain as Labour struggles to recover from a bruising set of local and regional election results.
The unrest follows heavy losses across England, where Labour surrendered almost 1,500 council seats. Reform UK made major gains in several former Labour strongholds, while the Greens also cut into the party’s support in urban areas. Labour’s problems extended beyond England, losing power in Wales after decades of dominance and recording its worst-ever performance in a Scottish Parliament election.
By Tuesday morning, more than 70 Labour MPs were reported to have either called for Sir Keir to resign or demanded he announce when he plans to step aside. The growing backlash has already forced several parliamentary aides to quit government roles.
Among them was Joe Morris, an aide to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who said the prime minister “no longer has the trust or confidence of the public.”
Naushabah Khan, another departing aide, accused the government of failing to respond to voter frustration quickly enough. “I did not enter politics to stand by while we fail. We need a clear change of direction now and no game playing,” she said.
Tom Rutland, who also resigned, warned that Sir Keir had lost authority both inside Parliament and across the country.
The turmoil has intensified speculation over potential successors, with growing attention focused on Andy Burnham. Supporters of Burnham have renewed calls for him to return to Westminster and eventually contest the Labour leadership, although he would first need to become an MP again.
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner also acknowledged the scale of Labour’s problems, saying the party “has to do better than this” following the election results.
Despite the mounting criticism, Sir Keir has rejected calls to resign. In a speech intended to steady his leadership, he admitted the government had made mistakes but insisted it had still “got the big political choices right.”
The prime minister also defended his decision to stay on, warning that walking away from office would “plunge our country into chaos, as the Tories did time and again.”
With Labour increasingly divided and rival factions positioning themselves for a possible leadership battle, pressure on Sir Keir shows little sign of easing.