Cabinet to tell Starmer to quit: PM appears doomed as delegation of ministers head to No10 to tell him his time is up after more than 70 MPs demanded he resign – with Streeting allies urging ‘swift’ timetable for departure
Keir Starmer’s premiership is in free fall as cabinet ministers force him to resign.
Dozens of Labor MPs have called on the Prime Minister to resign after his last-ditch campaign speech failed to quell the growing rebellion.
On Monday, Labor sources said a delegation of senior ministers went to No 10 to tell him his term was up. If he refuses to act, further face-to-face talks are expected to be held at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.
‘This is happening,’ a source said. ‘The Prime Minister spoke, people listened to him, but the opinion did not change. ‘The herd is moving.’
Sir Keir warned that a leadership contest on the eve of Wednesday’s King’s Speech would throw both the government and Britain into chaos.
But now prominent figures including health secretary Wes Streeting and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are polling supporters privately.
Financial markets feared the prospect of a contest that would drag Labor further to the Left and raise the cost of government borrowing.
Seventy-two MPs – that’s nearly a third of Labour’s backbench candidates – have publicly demanded that Sir Keir set a timetable for his resignation.
Keir Starmer admitted people were ‘fed up with me’ in his speech on Monday. His premiership goes into freefall as cabinet ministers force him to resign
Starmer was photographed with Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham last month; Both have been touted as potential leadership candidates as the premiership continues to collapse.
Dozens of Labor MPs today called on the Prime Minister to resign after his last-ditch campaign speech failed to quell the growing rebellion
The pressure intensified as a number of deputy ministers left the government, saying they no longer believed the Prime Minister could turn things around.
Streeting’s deputy, Joe Morris, called on the Prime Minister to set a “rapid timetable” for his departure to allow a new leader to “regain public confidence”.
Mr Streeting has said privately that he will not launch a direct challenge against Sir Keir for fear it would damage his allies’ chances.
But his campaign is said to be ‘ready to launch’ if the Prime Minister faces calls to resign.
On Monday, the Prime Minister said he would stand and fight against all odds, saying he would never ‘walk away’; This increased the likelihood that Labor would now be dragged into a bloody civil war.
Ministers are also divided over who will replace Sir Keir if he is sacked in the coming days.
Mr Streeting’s allies and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham are among the MPs who want Sir Keir gone.
But Mr Streeting’s supporters want a quick contest, while Mr Burnham’s allies want Sir Keir to delay his departure to find a seat in Westminster where he can contest the leadership.
Angela Rayner called on the Prime Minister on Monday to withdraw her opposition to Mr Burnham’s return. Labor sources claimed Ms Rayner had struck a ‘dream ticket’ deal with Mr Burnham that would see him return as deputy prime minister despite HM Revenue and Customs’ ongoing investigation into his tax affairs.
Speaking to the Communications Workers Union, Ms Rayner said Mr Burnham ‘should never have been blocked’ and added: ‘It was a mistake that our party’s leadership must correct.’
With Labor MPs divided over who will replace Sir Keir, the outcome of any race will be highly unpredictable.
Mr Burnham is the current favourite. However, if the Prime Minister is removed from office in a chaotic process, he may be barred from running. Allies say he is ready to announce this week that he is willing to step aside to pave the way for a sympathetic north-west MP to return to parliament.
But any midterm election would take weeks, if not months. Such a contest could be fraught with risks, with Reform making huge gains in Labour’s Red Wall. Mr Burnham will also need to persuade Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee to let him stand as a candidate after it blocked his last bid in February.
Kemi Badenoch said it was ‘sad’ to watch the Prime Minister ‘flounder’ and warned replacing him with another Labor politician would make no difference.
‘It’s not just Starmer,’ he said. The crooks jostling for jobs don’t have an answer either, because they all believe the same thing: more prosperity, more government control, more debt, more regulation.
‘They’re busy arguing about who should drive, but the truth is they’re all going in the wrong direction.’
Prominent figures, including health minister Wes Streeting, pictured, have been campaigning privately for their supporters.
Markets brace for Labor’s dramatic shift left as Starmer desperately tries to save himself
Tensions flared after Angela Rayner, pictured at the Communications Workers Union on Monday, prepared a manifesto for higher taxes and nationalisation.
The former deputy Prime Minister also hinted at links to Mr Burnham and called for him to be allowed to stand in the House of Commons by-election.
Tory leader Kevin Hollinrake has warned that infighting in the Labor Party is ‘crippling’ the government.
‘The Prime Minister is running out of time and answers, while members of his own cabinet are planning leadership bids. ‘Britain cannot afford a government paralyzed by the stubbornness of one man.’
Tony Blair’s former boss Alastair Campbell has warned that Labor MPs becoming ‘headless chicken farmers’ would deepen Labour’s problems.
Sir Keir is under increasing pressure following last week’s disastrous local election results, which saw Labor lose 1,500 council seats in England and come third in Wales and Scotland.
The Prime Minister tried to head off the rebellion on Monday with a speech in which he acknowledged he had ‘skeptics’ within his own party but insisted he could ‘prove them wrong’.
Sir Keir warned that the ‘chaos’ in the leadership race would cause ‘lasting damage’ and that Labor would ‘never be forgiven for putting our country through this’.
Claiming that infighting in the Labor Party would only benefit dissidents such as Nigel Farage, he said: ‘If we don’t get this right, our country will go down a very dark path.’
But the warning failed to overcome the growing anger of his leadership.
Within an hour of the Prime Minister’s speech, more backbenchers began calling for him to leave. In the evening, the rain of calls turned into a flood.
The rebellion, which started on the left of the party right after the local elections last week, spread throughout the party last night.
Chris Curtis, chairman of the Labor Growth Group, set up to help push Sir Keir’s pro-growth agenda, said it was time for him to go.
Mr Curtis, who is close to Mr Streeting, told Sky News: ‘I don’t think we have seen a plan from the Prime Minister this morning to introduce the kind of change this country needs and so I think it is time for us to look for new leadership.’
Interest rates on 10-year bonds, one of the government’s main means of borrowing, increased this morning
Meanwhile, while Cabinet ministers also shook hands, even senior figures such as Rachel Reeves, Shabana Mahmood and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy did not offer open support to the Prime Minister.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who took to the airwaves to defend the Prime Minister, said he was right to admit “mistakes” and his personal unpopularity with voters.
But he called for Mr Burnham to return to Westminster. When asked if he had done enough to turn the situation around, he replied: ‘No, going out and giving a speech is not enough.’
The crisis threatens to cause embarrassment for the King, who will decide on the government’s legislative program when parliament opens tomorrow.
