Minister resigns from Starmer government with call for PM to quit | Keir Starmer

Miatta Fahnbulleh became the first minister to resign from Keir Starmer’s government, calling on the prime minister to resign.

The communities minister’s resignation came as one of Starmer’s closest aides refused to say whether he would lead Labor at the next election amid growing calls for him to resign.

The prime minister’s chief secretary said on Tuesday that Starmer’s close ally Darren Jones said the prime minister was “listening to colleagues” who have asked him to set a timetable for departure but will make his own decisions about the way forward.

He warned the Prime Minister’s rivals that it was a “tough job”. “Anyone who thinks they can walk into the office of prime minister and solve all our problems, like the second coming of Christ, probably hasn’t thought carefully enough about how difficult that is,” he said.

Fahnbulleh, who is close to energy minister Ed Miliband, said he would “urge the prime minister to do what is right for the country and the party and set a timetable for an orderly transition”. The Peckham MP said the message on the doorsteps at the local election was that the prime minister had “lost the trust and confidence of the public”.

More than 70 Labor MPs have called for Starmer to stand down following last week’s disastrous election results in England, Wales and Scotland.

Asked whether Starmer would lead Labor at the next election, Jones said: “I will not stand in the way of any decision the Prime Minister may or may not make.

“He made it very clear yesterday that he will not walk away, as some of my colleagues have asked him to do. We have over 400 Labor MPs in the House of Commons. I think we have 70 people who have raised their concerns publicly at the moment.”

The Guardian understands that those who spoke to Starmer on Monday included four senior cabinet ministers – home secretary Shabana Mahmood, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, defense secretary John Healey and deputy prime minister David Lammy.

Some have called on the prime minister to oversee an orderly transition of power after crushing election defeats risked sounding the death knell of his premiership.

Others discussed with Starmer how they should take a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might happen next. Several people, including Richard Hermer and Steve Reed, urged him to continue fighting.

Jones told Times Radio that most MPs wanted to focus on using their time in government to deliver Labour’s policies. “In this new era of five-party politics, where populist parties are on the rise in our country, we must work together as a party to chart a course to win the next election.”

Asked if the king’s speech would also be given on Wednesday, he told Sky News: “Yes, as far as I know the king’s speech will be given tomorrow.

“We are working hard to put together a program of bills for the next session that will meet the challenges we face as a country, and it is important that we continue that work.”

Jones said the cabinet would meet late Tuesday morning. “[Starmer] Obviously he will be in talks with his colleagues because of the issues they have raised, but he was very clear with him and all of us this morning that we will continue to work, and I think that’s the right thing to do.

He continued: “Obviously his colleagues are asking the Prime Minister to consider different options in the future. And as I said, he is rightly listening to them. It would be wrong not to.”

In his speech on Monday, Starmer said he would not resign and would prove his skeptics wrong and fight any leadership challenge.

“I take responsibility to ensure that we do not descend into chaos that permanently damages this country, as the Conservatives have done so many times. A Labor government can never be forgiven for inflicting this on our country again,” he said.

Overnight, some Labor MPs began voicing public support for the prime minister. One of them, Neil Coyle, said he was “appalled by the elephant trap his colleagues have fallen into. Those who claim the council elections are about Keir have nothing to offer local communities.”

Another said: Nick Smith. “A global security crisis and its economic impact on our country means we need political stability. Unity is strength.”