Starmers Leadership Under Pressure As Rivals Stall

Keir Starmer is tonight locked in a Mexican stand-off with his Labour leadership rivals after refusing to quit despite four ministers so far resigning in a bid to force him out.

The prime minister told his cabinet to “get on with governing” rather than plotting his downfall.

“The past 48 hours have been destabilising for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families,” Starmer told them at the weekly cabinet meeting

“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered.”

Starmer made his remarks and then said there would be no discussion of the leadership issue or the fallout from last week’s elections, when Labour were humiliated in England, Scotland and Wales.

Dozens of Labour MPs have now called on the PM to set out a timetable for his departure.

Junior ministers Jess Phillips, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Alex Davies-Jones and Zubir Ahmed also resigned after deciding they could no longer serve in Starmer’s government.

However, cabinet loyalists Steve Reed, Pat McFadden, Liz Kendal and Peter Kyle put on a dramatic display of support for the prime minister.

Leaving 10 Downing Street after this morning’s cabinet meeting, they took the unusual step of addressing the waiting media to say they were backing the PM.

Meanwhile, leadership hopefuls Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham remained tight-lipped as they weighed up their options.

It is understood Streeting, the health secretary, tried to speak to Starmer after the cabinet meeting but was rebuffed.

A government source said: “Keir said in cabinet that he won’t discuss the elections or his leadership, and that he will only speak to cabinet ministers about that individually. Then after the meeting he refused to see cabinet ministers individually.”

Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, travelled to London but it is still unclear if he has identified a seat to stand in to give him the chance of becoming an MP again.

Despite speculation that a Labour MP in a safe seat has agreed to stand down for him, no announcement is thought to be imminent.

Amid all the turmoil, tomorrow’s King’s Speech will set out the Starmer government’s plans for the parliamentary year ahead.

But it remains highly unlikely that he will be prime minister long enough to deliver it.

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