Starmer pledges to bring Britain closer to the EU as he faces calls to step down

Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Monday to prove “skeptics” in his own party and among voters wrong as he sought to fight demands for Labor to resign after devastating local election results.

Starmer argued that he would “face huge challenges” and restore hope to the country. This involves moving closer to the European Union and “putting the UK at the heart of Europe”, a decade after the UK voted to leave the EU.

“I know I have my doubts and I know I have to prove them wrong and I will do that,” Starmer said in his speech in London. He vowed to prove to millions of people “tired of the status quo failing them” that the government was on their side.

He said Labor was in a “battle for the soul of our nation” and that the UK would enter a “dark path” if Reform UK, the anti-immigrant party led by Nigel Farage, came to power.

Starmer warned this was his last chance

But Starmer’s position remains fragile, with dozens of MPs calling for him to announce his departure date.

Last week’s heavy losses in local elections in England and legislative votes in Scotland and Wales have left Labor in a pessimistic mood. The elections were interpreted as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he came to power in a landslide less than two years ago.

“What we’re doing isn’t working and needs to change,” said former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, a powerful legislator often seen as a potential rival.

Rayner did not publicly call for Starmer to resign, but accused him of presiding over a “toxic culture of nepotism” and said the government must “remain loyal to labor and social democratic values” and ease the cost of living for working people.

“This may be our last chance,” Rayner said Sunday.

Starmer’s government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair outdated public services and ease living costs, and has been hobbled by repeated missteps and policy U-turns on issues including welfare reform. He was further hurt by Jeffrey Epstein’s disastrous decision to appoint his scandal-tainted friend Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

In last week’s election, Labor was squeezed from both right and left, losing votes to both Reform UK and the “eco-populist” Green Party. This reflects the growing fragmentation of British politics, long dominated by Labor and the Conservatives.

Starmer with his speech on Monday and King George III. It hopes to build momentum with a set of ambitious legislative plans to be laid out in Charles’ speech at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.

In his speech, he told party MPs and activists the government would take control of Britain’s energy, economy and defense security and make the country fairer.

One key policy is closer ties with the EU, which the UK left in 2020, four years after the “leave” side narrowly won a membership referendum. Starmer’s government has already moved to ease some trade restrictions that have burdened British businesses since Brexit, and he has said he would secure a youth mobility deal so young people can spend several years working on the continent.

Starmer said the government would be “defined by rebuilding our relationship with Europe”.

Labor campaigned to remain in the EU during the 2016 referendum campaign but has been reluctant to reopen a debate that has bitterly divided the country. Starmer has rejected calls to re-enter the EU or rejoin the bloc’s customs union or single market, which would make a big difference to British businesses.

Opponents have difficulty making moves

None of the high-profile Labor politicians see Starmer as a potential rival, including Rayner, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have yet to call on him to resign.

But a growing number of Labor MPs have called on the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure. British politics allows parties to change mid-term leaders without the need for a new election.

Josh Simons, a formerly staunch Labor MP, wrote in the Times of London that Starmer had “lost the country” and “must get the situation under control by overseeing an orderly transition to a new prime minister.”

Catherine West, a former minister, said she would try to trigger a leadership contest unless Starmer delivers a barnstorming speech on Monday. West acknowledged that he did not have the support of the 81 colleagues needed to force a contest, and his move appeared to be an attempt to force higher-profile contestants to take action.

“Working people sent us a message,” West said. “We need to listen, we need to change, and we need to do it quickly.”