Politics Home Article | “Keir Needs To Go”: Labour MPs Brace For Dramatic Week In Westminster

Labour MPs are bracing themselves for a dramatic week in Westminster as calls grow for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign. (Alamy)

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By Sunday afternoon Labour had lost almost 1,500 council seats in Thursday’s local elections, suffering heavy losses across the UK with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party and Zack Polanski’s Green Party making significant gains in traditionally Labour areas. 

Labour lost control of the Senedd in Wales for the first time since it was established in 1999 – with Welsh Labour First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat, and the party also took heavy losses at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the aftermath of the results said he would not “sugarcoat” what had happened – but said he was “not going to walk away” and vowed to stay. 

However, on Saturday backbench Labour MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet Catherine West threatened to trigger a leadership contest herself on Monday if a cabinet minister does not put themselves forward to challenge the Prime Minister – claiming she had 10 MPs who would back her. 

“My preferred option is for the cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there’s plenty of talent, and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role,” she told BBC Radio 4. 

And fewer than 24 hours later on Sunday, influential backbencher, former Labour Together boss and former Treasury minister Labour MP Josh Simons also called for Starmer to step down – writing in The Times that Starmer had “lost the country” and that he did not believe “the prime minister can rise to this moment”. 

“Keir changed Labour, won a historic election, and restored this country as a world leader,” said Simons. 

“He is right that we must not descend into Tory leadership drama. But we must also stop doubling down on a status quo that voters are crying out to change.

“He should lead an orderly transition for senior figures to agree a path forward.”

PoliticsHome spoke to a number of Labour MPs following Labour’s losses and the subsequent interventions calling for the Prime Minister to step down, with many sharing the view of West that it was time for Starmer’s departure. 

“I think it’s watchful waiting as we’re all in our constituencies. But next week when we’re all back…” one MP, who had not called for Starmer to step down publicly yet, told PoliticsHome. 

“The Whips Office don’t seem to have been making any effort to contact people over the weekend, which I feel is very telling.”

They added: “Keir needs to go. I’ve thought it for a year or so now, but there is no more road, no more  ‘well it’s a time of international uncertainty, maybe with a bit more time he can turn things around’.”

However, when asked who should replace Starmer, they responded: “I don’t even care at this point; anyone that isn’t Keir”. 

The lack of an obvious successor for a critical mass of Labour MPs to coalesce around in the aftermath of Thursday is apparent. Many on the left are concerned that Andy Burnham would be unable to run in a contest that was called too swiftly, since he would need a Parliamentary seat.  “This isn’t a game” and “no one remotely serious should be anywhere near this Catherine plan”, one ally told PoliticsHome.

Ipsos polling of Britons when asked who should lead Labour if Starmer resigned saw 17 per cent choose Burnham – more than triple his nearest rival, Angela Rayner (5 per cent). Rayner herself is understood to prefer to wait for an HMRC investigation into her tax affairs to be completed prior to running, although some reports suggest she could run while under investigation.

Another Labour MP, who has also not yet called for Starmer to publicly, said they wanted a leadership contest but “later” and said it’s hard to tell if the calls for Starmer to leave “have momentum” currently.

“A stalking horse brings out real candidates only once the contest is triggered,” they said.

One Labour MP – who said they conceded they wanted “a clear timeline set out by Keir to step aside” – was critical of Catherine West’s ultimatium, saying “her intervention is unhelpful”, warning it could open the door to Health Secretary Wes Streeting to make a bid. 

“Any moves by Catherine to kick off the challenge risks giving the keys of Number 10 to Wes,” they said, also not yet calling for Starmer to go publicly. 

“Wes would be every bit as disastrous for the country as Keir. He is inextricably linked to Labour Together, Mandelson and the likes of Palantir. 

“We need real change not more of the same.”

Elsewhere, a Labour MP from the 2024 intake told PoliticsHome said “it’s over” for the Prime Minister – adding “it’s not just usual suspects” who are calling for Starmer to step down. 

“And the number of people remaining silent is high,” they said. “The WhatsApp groups are dangerously quiet.”

And another 2024 Labour MP told PoliticsHome “the PM should f*** off in time”, but added that Simons intervention in The Times swayed them “more the other way”.

“[He’s] desperate to be relevant,” they added.

Starmer’s cabinet, however, have rallied around the Prime Minister – with deputy prime minister David Lammy warning “you don’t change the pilot during a flight” and Housing Secretary Steve Reed warning against “doomscrolling” through new party leaders. 

And outside of cabinet, there are also Labour MPs who are not supportive of Starmer’s departure. 

Edgbaston Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill, who serves as a parliamentary private secretary to cabinet minister Liz Kendall, told PoliticsHome people “expect us to govern” and that she had been told on the doorstep “Keir Starmer should keep going” and voters are seeing “through the attacks”. 

“Honestly, with all due respect to people like Catherine West and Josh Simons, many of us who have been in politics for a long time and seen what opposition is like – bringing down the Labour government, none of us accept any of that,” she said.

“We have got a mandate until 2029 – right now, we’ve got to be humble with the electorate on the protest vote that they made, at the change that they want to see, focusing on the things that they voted for.”