Labour MP Drops Threat To Challenge Starmer’s Premiership

Labour MP Catherine West has dropped her immediate threat to challenge Keir Starmer’s premiership after his make-or-break speech on Monday.

But the former Foreign Office minister still insisted he should resign by September following Labour’s catastrophic results in last week’s local elections.

The MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet announced on Saturday that she planned to gather 81 Labour MPs’ names to formally challenge Starmer.

At least 20% of the total parliamentary party needs to back one challenger MP for a Labour leader to be ousted.

West insisted that she did not want to take over from the prime minister, but suggested this would encourage others to step up.

Starmer tried to win back disillusioned MPs by promising to prove his doubters “wrong” in a high-stakes address to the party this morning, vowing to fight on.

Shortly after his speech, West said in a statement: “I have listened to the prime minister’s speech this morning. I welcome the renewed energy and ideas.

“However, I have reluctantly concluded that this morning’s speech was too little, too late.

“The results last Thursday show that the prime minister has failed to inspire hope. What is best for the party and country now is for an orderly transition.

“I am hereby giving notice to No 10 that I am collecting names of Labour MPs to call on the prime minister to set a timetable for the election of a new leader in September.

“I want to thank everyone who has been in contact over the weekend to offer good wishes. We need our best top team in place to fight the next election. We owe working people up and down the country nothing less.”

Potential rivals, health secretary Wes Streeting and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, were expected to launch imminent leadership bids after West offered to be the stalking horse over the weekend.

West’s pivot will take the immediate pressure off Starmer, and give another expected challenger, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, more time to secure a seat in parliament.

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