Keir Starmer appears to be living on borrowed time as prime minister following Labour’s latest election nightmare.
MPs broke ranks to demand he set out when he plans to quit No.10 after the party suffered humiliation in England, Wales and Scotland.
Hundreds of Labour councillors have already lost their seats in English town halls, with hundreds more set to join them as results continue to be announced.
Worryingly for Labour MPs, the right-wing Reform UK made huge gains in traditional Labour areas like Sunderland, Tameside, Hartlepool and Preston.
The party has also been squeezed on the left by the Greens, who also made hundreds of gains across England.
In Wales, Labour has been booted out of power for the first time since the Senedd was established in 1999.
Eluned Morgan, who was Welsh first minister until today, also became the first British head of government to ever lose their seat.
She said the Labour government had to “change course” as she announced she was resigning as the party’s leader in Wales.
Meanwhile, the SNP has been returned to power yet again, with Labour in a fight with Reform UK to come a distant second.
Starmer said he took personal responsibility for Labour’s disastrous performance, but insisted he was “not going to walk away” from No.10.
Labour leadership hopefuls like health secretary Wes Streeting and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner kept a low profile as the full extent of the party’s devastation became clear.
But a steady stream of MPs said it was clear that the PM could not lead Labour into the next general election and called on him to set out a timetable for when he plans to stand down.
Sarah Owen told The Times: “The public’s message to the prime minister is clear – and it is now do or die for the Labour leadership.
“The Labour government at its best has made some headway on reversing austerity, bringing in new rights for workers and renters, and taking children out of poverty, but that has not been fast or far enough for people to really feel it in their pockets, and see it their communities.
“Unless Keir Starmer delivers tangible change and truly connects with the public on a human level, he can’t lead us into another election, locally or nationally.”
Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgeley said: “The results here and across the north are beyond our worst expectations. It’s truly devastating.
“Unless that changes significantly and quickly it’s clear the PM can’t lead us into another election.”
Simon Opher, the Labour MP for Stroud, said it was “an existential moment for both our party and our country.
“The message from voters could not be clearer: things have to change,” he said.
“The government is beginning to deliver in some important areas, but the leadership is now deeply unpopular, and I fear that this loss of confidence is now terminal.
“The prime minister cannot take our party into the next general election. We owe it to our members, elected representatives, and the country to set aside pride and ambition.
“We need an orderly transition that brings together the very best talents across the Labour Party to deliver the change this country so desperately needs and to stop the far right from entering No.10.”
Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, a frequent critic of the PM, said Labour’s defeat “has Keir Starmer’s name written all over it”.
“It is clear that Keir has fought his last election as Labour leader and, deep down, he will know it,” he said.
“The party should now work towards a timetable for an orderly transition to a new leader by the end of this year.:
Olivia Blake, the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, told The Independent that Starmer “needs to think about his position”.
She said there needed to be an “orderly plan” for the PM to be replaced by someone else.
A senior Labour source told HuffPost UK: “In the same way Starmer has no compunction in pushing people off a cliff to save his own skin, the cabinet should now show him the same loyalty and give him the shove.”
Labour peer and former minister Lord Dave Watts called for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to return to Westminster with a view to becoming PM.
Writing for HuffPost UK, he said: “It’s clear we need a change, and many MPs and Labour voters are looking to the most successful and popular Labour politician, Andy Burnham, to provide that change.
“I believe that Andy should be allowed to stand in a by-election to boost Labour’s prospects and to provide the leadership needed.”
But a Labour MP said that following the party’s disastrous showing in local elections across the north west of England “there’s absolutely no way anybody is going to want to campaign in a by-elections in Greater Manchester any time soon”.
“There’s not a cat in hell’s chance of Andy finding a seat to stand in,“the MP said.
Cabinet loyalists and Labour grandees also rallied behind the prime minister as Downing Street launched a campaign to save his job.
Technology secretary Liz Kendall told BBC News: “He’s not gonna go, and he not gonna set a timetable. People want us focused on their jobs and their future not our jobs and our future.”
Housing secretary Steve Reed posted on X: “The last thing the country wants is the Labour Party to talk about the Labour Party. The British public don’t want to hear about timelines, backroom deals and navel-gazing. Let’s get on with the job.”
Also posting on X, business secretary Peter Kyle said: “Reversing these results requires a collective effort, not just blaming the boss.
“We can’t do that by turning in on ourselves. We do it by rebuilding faith in Labour’s ability to inspire and lead our country. Losing our prime minister is the very opposite of that.”
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