Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing an escalating leadership crisis within the Labour Party, with growing calls for his resignation after Andy Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election. Despite Starmer's attempts to strike a defiant tone since surviving the Peter Mandelson scandal in February, the mood among Labour MPs has darkened significantly over the weekend.
Starmer's Defiant Message Fails to Quell Rebellion
In recent months, Starmer has insisted he will not leave Number 10, warning that a leadership contest would plunge the country into chaos. He argued that the electorate gave him a five-year mandate after Labour's landslide victory in 2024. However, this message has not survived contact with reality, as more MPs now call for him to step aside.
On Friday, Starmer told Labour staffers on a call: “The one thing we’ve got to avoid doing is plunging our party and our country into chaos by turning on each other and tearing apart our party and our movement. That has never worked. That’s what the last government did. We need to learn that lesson.”
Cabinet Support Drains Away
Crucially, Cabinet support is also eroding. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander became the latest senior ministers to urge Starmer to step aside last week. There has been no collective show of support from the Cabinet for the PM's position following Burnham's election victory. Instead, there has been mostly silence.
In a stark moment on Sunday, Peter Kyle, sent out to bat for the government on the airwaves, failed to rule out the PM’s departure in the coming days. Instead, he said Starmer was considering the “political realities” of Burnham’s win.
Burnham's Victory Shifts Mood
Andy Burnham's by-election win in Makerfield has given Labour MPs hope that Nigel Farage's Reform UK can be defeated, but it has also intensified pressure on Starmer. Some MPs who stood by him after the local elections bloodbath are now calling for him to go.
The Prime Minister's decision may be announced in the next 24-48 hours, according to reports. The growing rebellion threatens to destabilize the government and could lead to a leadership contest.
