Starmer could face a Labour leadership challenge – how would it work?

Despite his insistence that he will not resign following a series of damaging local election results, Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to prove his doubters wrong as he faces growing pressure from Labor supporters to resign or set a timetable for him to leave.

The debate over his political future has led to comparisons with Labor predecessor Sir Tony Blair’s departure from 10th place.

But more importantly, unlike Gordon Brown’s then obvious path, Sir Keir has no obvious successor.

Catherine West has previously said she would challenge Sir Keir for the party leadership as early as Monday afternoon in a bid to force the Cabinet to put forward someone new as prime minister.

But after the speech in which Sir Keir said he would not “walk away”, the former Foreign Secretary said he would now seek support from within the party to set a timetable for the Prime Minister’s resignation by September.

Speculation is rife about the ambitions of former deputy Angela Rayner and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

But Ms Rayner is awaiting the outcome of an inquiry into her tax affairs and Mr Burnham is not currently an MP.

Here’s a look at how a potential Labor leadership contest might play out.

How will the Labor Party leadership contest work?

There is no formal vote of confidence procedure to remove a Labor leader.

Anyone challenging Sir Keir will instead need the support of 81 MPs – 20 per cent of the party in the House of Commons – to launch a contest.

Written nominations will need to be submitted to Labor general secretary Hollie Ridley.

In the event of a successful challenge, Sir Keir will be on the ballot as the incumbent by default and will not need to field candidates.

If Ser Keir resigned, a contest would automatically start for a new leader.

It is the responsibility of Labour’s National Executive Committee to determine the timeline for the leadership election.

What’s the latest situation?

Speculation about the Prime Minister’s future has increased since Thursday’s election, which saw Labor lose almost 1,500 British councillors, slipping backwards in Scotland and falling to third place in Wales.

The election blow has led a number of Labor MPs to call for the Prime Minister to resign or set a timetable for his departure.

In a speech in central London on Monday, Sir Keir said he took “responsibility” for the losses but insisted he would continue the fight.

Rejecting those calling for his resignation, Sir Keir said: “I will not shy away from the fact that there are some skeptics, including in my own party.

“I won’t shy away from the fact that I have to prove them wrong, and I will.”