Exclusive: Senior cabinet ministers urge Starmer to set out timetable for his departure
Pippa Crerar
Keir Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be slipping away on Monday as cabinet ministers urged him to set out a timetable for his departure and more than 70 Labour MPs publicly called for him to stand down.
The Guardian understands that two senior cabinet ministers – Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary – told the prime minister he should oversee an orderly transition of power after crushing election defeats risked ringing the death knell on his premiership.
At least two others – believed to be John Healey and David Lammy – discussed with Starmer how they should take a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might follow. Several others – including Richard Hermer and Steve Reed – were defiant, urging him to fight on.
One cabinet minister told the Guardian: “In the end Keir has listened to cabinet ministers – there are differences about where this will go and what is in best interests of party and country. He’ll have to make a decision about what he’s going to do before cabinet tomorrow”.
Several sources said how angry some cabinet ministers were with Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting, who they believed to have precipitated the leadership crisis by sanctioning allies to call for Starmer’s departure. “They’ve got their hands all over this,” one said.
Key events
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Here is a summary of today’s events
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Exclusive: Senior cabinet ministers urge Starmer to set out timetable for his departure
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Over 70 Labour MPs have called for Starmer to resign
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UK’s youngest MP calls for Starmer to resign
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Voter ‘animosity’ to Starmer means he must go, says Tom Rutland as he quits as PPS
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Sally Jameson become first PPS to call for Starmer to set timetable for his resignation
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Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi says it is time for Starmer to step aside
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Scottish Greens say new MSP will be able to stay in Scotland to serve at Holyrood on graduate visa
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Communication Workers Union votes against disaffiliating from Labour
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Steve Reed claims Labour MPs calling for Starmer’s resignation are not representative of majority of PLP
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More Labour MPs call for Starmer’s resignation
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Would Burnham win a byelection in Greater Manchester or the north-west?
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Starmer leadership crisis shows ‘chaos’ has become ‘permanent pattern’ at Westminster, SNP claims
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Labour MP Lorraine Beavers says Starmer should quit, claiming party will do even worse next year in elections if he stays
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Starmer can’t win next election and must ‘set date for his departure’, says Labour MP Alan Gemmell
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Welsh secretary Jo Stevens suggests Mark Drakeford’s policy agenda helped cause Labour’s crushing defeat
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Sadiq Khan backs Burnham being allowed to stand as byelection candidate so he can return to Commons
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Starmer’s speech fails to stop more Labour MPs calling for his resignation
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Curtis says new Labour leader should be elected well before September, which is timetable proposed by West
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Labour MP Chris Curtis says Starmer should stand down
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Rayner tells CWU she was ‘born in Stockport, but raised in trade union movement’
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Rayner says Burnham should be allowed to be Labour byelection candidate so he can return to parliament
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Rayner says people turning ‘to populists and nationalists’ because Labour not fixing cost of living problems
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Rayner tells CWU it’s clear what Labour government is doing ‘isn’t working’
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Angela Rayner addresses CWU conference
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Starmer’s speech – verdict from commentariat
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Starmer’s speech ‘too little, too late’, says Catherine West, and urges Labour MPs to back calls for him to quit
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Catherine West reportedly set to press ahead with call for Starmer to set timetable for resignation
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Labour MP David Smith joins those saying Starmer should set departure date, saying Labour must ‘act faster, and be more radical’
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Starmer says constant leadership changes under Tories ‘inflicted huge damage on this country’
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Starmer refuses to rule out including plan to join EU’S single market or customs union in Labour’s next manifesto
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Starmer says he will fight any challenge to his leadership
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Starmer insists he can prove his doubters wrong
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Starmer says ‘chaos of constantly changing leaders’ under Tories was bad for UK, with working people paying price
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Starmer plays down prospect of Burnham being allowed by Labour to be byelection candidate
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Starmer says government will ban far-right agitators from travelling to UK for march planned for Saturday
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Starmer says he will set ‘new direction for Britain’ at next summit with EU
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Starmer attacks Farage’s record on Brexit, saying he is ‘not just a grifter, he’s a chancer’
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Starmer says government will bring forward legislation this week to nationalise British Steel
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Starmer says he needs to talk more about how Labour is acting on behalf of working people
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Starmer says ‘stories beat spreadsheets’ and ‘people need hope’
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Starmer says UK will go ‘down very dark path’ if Labour does not recover and get things right
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Kyle says Wes Streeting, his friend, not plotting to oust Starmer
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Kyle suggests Rayner, and other candidates, could put public finances in ‘peril’ with spending policies
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Kyle says it was Burnham himself who chose to leave Commons, as he rubbishes talk of Labour allowing swift return for mayor
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Starmer to propose stronger links with EU, as Peter Kyle claims significant change possible within Labour’s manifesto red lines
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Starmer to say ‘incremental change won’t cut it’ in major make-or-break speech to avert leadership challenge
Here is a summary of today’s events
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More than 70 Labour MPs publicly called for Keir Starmer to stand down, after a speech he gave to shore up his leadership after bruising local election results fell flat.
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The Guardian understands that two senior cabinet ministers – Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary – told the prime minister he should oversee an orderly transition of power.
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Tom Rutland, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham and PPS to the environment secretary, resigned because he thinks voter “animosity” to the PM means that Starmer can no longer stay, he said in a resignation statement.
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Starmer made six appointments of MPs to become PPS, replacing the ones who resigned.
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A Labour MP who made a high-profile stand against the government’s proposed jury reforms – by revealing, in the House of Commons, that she had been a victim of rape – called on Keir Starmer to resign, accuding the government of having “burned through a huge amount of political capital” on plans that were not in Labour’s manifesto, such as the courts and tribunals bill.
Keir Starmer has made appointments of new Parliamentary Private Secretaries to replace the ones who resigned today, possibly signalling his determination to continue despite calls for him to resign from over 70 of his own MPs.
The following PPS appointments have been made:
David Burton-Sampson – Department for Health and Social Care
Linsey Farnsworth MP – Ministry of Justice
Jayne Kirkham MP – Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Michael Payne MP – Home Office
Tim Roca MP – Department for Work and Pensions
Sean Woodcock MP – Cabinet Office
A seventh Scottish Labour MP has called for Keir Starmer to resign, as the number of members of his own party opposing his leadership continues to rise.
Gordon McKee posted on X: “I’m deeply sad that we’re in this position and proud of what Keir Starmer achieved reforming the Labour Party.
“However, the message in Glasgow and across the country in last week’s elections was clear; the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the public.
If we don’t change, the outcome could be Nigel Farage in Downing Street and all of the disastrous consequences that would have.
“It’s clear that the Prime Minister no longer has the trust or confidence of the public, or large swathes of the Parliamentary Labour Party, to lead this change, and he should resign to bring this to an end.”
Keir Starmer kicked off the day with a speech aimed at persuading MPs against launching any kind of leadership challenge. By lunchtime, Angela Rayner was speaking at the CWU conference calling for Andy Burnham to return.
In the afternoon the list of MPs calling on him to resign was slowly creeping up but no challenge has materialised. Why is the Labour party in such a muddle over Starmer?
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Exclusive: Senior cabinet ministers urge Starmer to set out timetable for his departure
Pippa Crerar
Keir Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be slipping away on Monday as cabinet ministers urged him to set out a timetable for his departure and more than 70 Labour MPs publicly called for him to stand down.
The Guardian understands that two senior cabinet ministers – Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary – told the prime minister he should oversee an orderly transition of power after crushing election defeats risked ringing the death knell on his premiership.
At least two others – believed to be John Healey and David Lammy – discussed with Starmer how they should take a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might follow. Several others – including Richard Hermer and Steve Reed – were defiant, urging him to fight on.
One cabinet minister told the Guardian: “In the end Keir has listened to cabinet ministers – there are differences about where this will go and what is in best interests of party and country. He’ll have to make a decision about what he’s going to do before cabinet tomorrow”.
Several sources said how angry some cabinet ministers were with Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting, who they believed to have precipitated the leadership crisis by sanctioning allies to call for Starmer’s departure. “They’ve got their hands all over this,” one said.
A Labour MP who made a high-profile stand against the government’s proposed jury reforms – by revealing, in the House of Commons, that she had been a victim of rape – has called on Keir Starmer to resign.
Charlotte Nichols, the Labour MP for Warrington North, told Cathy Newman on Sky News that she called for Starmer to go “more in sadness than in anger”.
Nichols said criticised Starmer for not bringing forward legislation for a Hillsborough law after two years in office.
“We have seen time and time again the manifesto that we were elected on, time being taken away from delivering that by these side issues and things that have kind of come out of nowhere that no-one really asked for that we burned through a huge amount of political capital on, whether it’s courts and tribunals bill, whether it’s winter fuel, ID cards, why are we doing these things?” she questioned. “Ultimately it goes back to the decision making and leadership.”
Read our full analysis of a tumultuous day for Keir Starmer by our political editor Pippa Crerar and deputy political editor Jessica Elgot.
Keir Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be slipping away tonight as more than 70 Labour MPs publicly urged him to set out a timetable for his departure, despite his pledging to fight any challenge.
Pressure on Starmer mounts as more than 70 Labour MPs call for him to quit:
Over 70 Labour MPs have called for Starmer to resign
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is among a number of cabinet ministers to have told Keir Starmer that he should consider his position, the Times reports.
Cabinet ministers are expected to confront Starmer at cabinet on Tuesday and pressure him to stand down after over 70 Labour MPs called for him to resign.
Mary Kelly Foy, the MP for Durham, has called on Keir Starmer to resign, criticising the Labour’s party’s “misguided tactic” of trying to “beat Reform at their game”.
“My heart breaks at the current state of the party I’ve called my political home for my entire life and I’m embarrassed by the never-ending sound bites from Cabinet Ministers saying they don’t hear issues about the leadership on the doorstep.
“Perhaps they should knock on the same doors I have, but their lack of interest in listening to backbench colleagues has been made abundantly clear.”
A quarter of Labour backbenchers have now called on Keir Starmer to resign, according to a tally by the Times newspaper.
The MP for South Norfolk, Ben Goldsborough, took the number to publicly oppose the prime minister to 69. In a statement posted on Instagram, he said: “I believe our movement can still deliver the change people desperately want and deserve.
“But I no longer believe the prime minister can lead that change”, he added, calling for a “swift timetable” for Starmer’s resignation.
A separate tally by Sky News has the number of MPs who have called for Starmer to resign at 66.
The number of MPs to have called on Starmer to resign has reached 63, according to Sky News.
Four ministerial aides have quit and called on the prime minister to resign, after disasterous local election results for the Labour party.
Scottish Labour MP for Cowdenbeath & Kirkcaldy, Melanie Ward has resigned as a Justice PPS, saying: “So many of my constituents told me that they could not vote Labour as long as Keir Starmer remains prime minister.
“Their anger at early errors like changes to the Winter Fuel Payment remains palpable. Mistakes on moral issues like Gaza have also not been forgotten by the wider public.”
She called for Starmer to resign and for a “rapid process” for the election of a new leader and prime minister.
Natasha Irons, the Labour MP for Croydon East has commented on leaked WhatsApps in which she told other 2024 Labour MPs: “Bottom line, changing leader because Nigel Farage has forced us to is not something any of us can come back from. Anyone who thinks we can needs to wake up.”
After screenshots of the disagreement between the MPs in a WhatsApp group, was published by the Times chief political correspondent on X, Irons said: “I’m not one for publicly sniping at each other but seeing as that’s been taken out of my hands…I stand by this.”
Debbie Abrahams has announced on Sky News that she wants Keir Starmer to set out an “orderly” timetable to a different leader.
The Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth confirmed to Cathy Newman she would like Starmer to “step down in the Autumn”.
Abrahams, the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said she would “very much like” Andy Burnham back in parliament and said she would be supporting him in a leadership contest.
Newman said this took the number of MPs to have called for the prime minister to go to 61.
The Culture Secretary said Keir Starmer did “the right thing” by giving a speech this morning.
Lisa Nandy told Sky news: “What happens next is most important. Going forwards what you are going to see from this Labour government is a prime minister who will go out and wear his heart on his sleeve, who will show he is prepared to go out and fight any system that stands in the way of making people’s lives better.”
Rachel Taylor has publicly called for Keir Starmer to resign, taking the total number of Labour party MPs to have publicly done so to 59.
The MP for North Warwickshire & Bedworth posted in a statement shared on Instagram: “I watched the prime minister’s speech this morning with an open mind but I’m afraid I don’t think he spoke clearly enough about the change my constituents need to feel.”
That is why with a genuinely heavy heart I am calling on Keir Starmer to announce a timetable for his departure.”
Her full statement is here:
The Chair of the Labour party has publicly come out in support of Keir Starmer, posting on X that: “This difficult moment isn’t about giving up, it’s about stepping up.”
She added she was “proud” of the prime minister – who has seen 58 of his own MPs come out to call for him to resign today – his record as a Labour PM and his leadership.
Turley said: “I support him to deliver the ambition he set out this morning to bring hope and opportunity to the country.”
The MP for Gillingham and Rainham MP has quit her role as ministerial aide in the Cabinet Office to call for Keir Starmer to resign.
Naushabah Khan said the prime minister “has lost the confidence of the public” and that “we need a clear change of direction now”.
Another newly elected MP, Yuan Yang – who took the newly created constituency of Earley & Woodley in the 2024 election – has also said Starmer should “set out a considered timeline for his departure.
A Labour peer has publicly backed Keir Starmer to remain as Labour leader, as the number of MPs calling for him to resign reached 58.
Lord Foulkes, a life peer and former Scotland Minister, said Starmer won a majority in the last general election and had a mandate to continue.
He told Sky News: “There are 400 MPs and those who support him are staying quiet, it’s only the people who are objecting who are coming public about this. He’s doing a good job.
“If he were to resign, there would be an election, there would be a lot of uncertainty during the time of that election and that would not help the country as a whole.”
