Sadiq Khan backs Starmer as he warns Labour rebels against leadership contest

Sir Sadiq Khan has thrown his weight behind Sir Keir Starmer, insisting that “this is not the time” for a Labor leadership contest.

The Mayor of London has admitted May’s local election results were “really bad” for his party and said they should be a “wake-up call” for the prime minister.

Both Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham have signaled their intention to challenge Sir Keir for the keys to No 10, while warning that Labor will need to “change the pace” from now on to win back voters.

However, Sir Sadiq said: Independent He does not believe now is the time for a change of leadership and has called on the prime minister to do more to show people that the change they voted for in July 2024 is possible.

“I think the results on May 7 were really bad for Labor in London, Scotland, Wales and across England,” he said.

“But I think they are also bad for the communities that Labor has been elected to serve, and this should be a wake-up call for the national party in government to respond.”

Following the devastating results, which saw Labor lose a large number of votes to Nigel Farage’s Reform England, Sir Keir said the results were “difficult” but vowed not to walk away.

Just days later the health secretary, Mr Streeting, resigned from the cabinet and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham announced his intention to return to Westminster in what would be the biggest challenge yet to Sir Keir’s authority.

To talk Independent After opening a tech abuse conference in London, London’s mayor said Sir Keir’s speech the day after the landslide election was a “good start” but the government needed to make sure it “built on” the change it had initiated.

He said: “I am not calling for a sudden change of leadership but it is important that the government builds on this so that people start to see the change promised in July 2024.

“We are focused on helping families through the cost of living crisis and improving the living standards of people across the country. We must address the concerns people are raising, whether they are victims of violence against women and girls or other issues people care about.

“Hopefully from now on you will see a change in the pace of government delivery.”

The statement comes after Sir Sadiq warned Labor was facing an “existential threat” after the party suffered its worst local election results in history earlier this month.

He failed to publicly support Sir Keir at the time, saying that “many people who voted Labor at the last general election were clearly angry, disappointed and disappointed”, while Londoners were “fed up with the slow pace of change”.