Labour MPs plot Blair-style coup against Starmer after May 7 | Politics | News
A group of Labor supporters are plotting to force Sir Keir Starmer to set a departure date in an open letter reminiscent of the maneuver that ended Tony Blair’s premiership almost two decades ago, the Express has learned.
MPs unhappy with the 2024 election are reportedly quietly forming a coalition to challenge the Prime Minister, spurred by the size of Labor’s expected losses in Thursday’s council elections and expected heavy defeats at the hands of Reform UK and the Green Party.
The letter will allegedly hold Starmer personally responsible for Labour’s electoral collapse and call on him to announce when he intends to stand down. It comes amid what one minister described as “real anger in the PLP” at Starmer’s leadership, with many cabinet ministers saying they were aware of the plot.
The day after seven leading members resigned in 2006, Blair had vowed to leave within the year after a letter warned his reluctance to specify a departure date was “damaging to the government and the party”.
Who is behind the plot to oust Keir Starmer?
This challenge is reportedly being run by members of the 2024 intake, but so far only a limited number of people have applied to sign. Its success will depend on how many deputy ministers and parliamentary private secretaries are willing to put their names to the project, a backbencher who attended the discussions said.
Cabinet ministers have privately said any move against Starmer “must come from friends”. Both former deputy chancellor Angela Rayner and Health Secretary Wes Streeting are believed to have enough support to trigger a formal competition among MPs, but neither are keen to strike first.
Rayner is expected to weigh up whether to challenge Starmer directly within 72 hours of Thursday’s vote, the Times reported. He recently held private talks with Armed Forces Minister Al Carns in a bid to bolster his defense credentials ahead of a potential leadership race.
An ally of Carns confirmed the discussions and said: “Naturally they’re talking. Ange knows that’s one of her weak spots and if you’re looking for someone to carry that weak spot, she’s your man. If you’re putting together a fantasy cabinet, she’s the defense or external security officer.”
Could Andy Burnham replace Keir Starmer as Labor leader?
Others in the cabinet are urging colleagues to support Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as an alternative candidate.
Miliband is reportedly maneuvering to take a decisive role in the Burnham campaign and the chancellorship is paying the price. He has withdrawn himself from the race but is understood to believe Starmer’s term in office will not last until the next election, and he backs Burnham as the left-of-centre figure best placed to restore the party’s fortunes.
Miliband could join cabinet loyalists in backing Starmer immediately after the local elections to buy time for Burnham to secure a return to Westminster as an MP.
What is the expected size of Labour’s local election losses?
Efforts to build support for the challenge are likely to intensify on Friday morning, when MPs will confront the full extent of the party’s losses in England, Scotland and Wales.
The party is set to fall third in Wales and Scotland and lose more than 1,800 seats in the English council. London councils could fall to rivals ranging from the Greens and Reform to the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, with traditional strongholds such as Sunderland, Barnsley and Wakefield under threat. Experts think Labor is heading towards its lowest ever share of the capital vote.
One MP supporting the challenge said: “We will be furious and will not submit to complete ruin.” Starmer added: “People underestimate our ability to recover when he is gone, but we need to do this calmly and properly.”
However, not all 2024 participants are reversing this move; many are cautious about how voters will react. A senior first-term MP warned that the letter may feature a relatively small number of names and that the cabinet has yet to produce a single committed signatory.
