LONDON — A Labour former minister threatening to challenge Keir Starmer as prime minister will give MPs until Tuesday morning to nominate her as leader.
Catherine West said Saturday she plans to force a leadership contest after last week’s devastating local election results for the ruling Labour Party, unless Starmer signals a change of direction in a speech Monday, or a Cabinet minister launches a challenge.
West, a former Foreign Office minister, told London Playbook: “If I feel it’s flat and it’s all the same … I will then write to all the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] with my email [at lunchtime] looking for support for my bid.”
West requires the support of 81 MPs, representing 20 percent of the PLP, to kickstart a contest.
She said she wants to “give a deadline” of Tuesday morning to avoid the challenge going “on and on,” because “sometimes these things fizzle out.”
West’s challenge would be a blow to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s leadership ambitions as he does not sit in the House of Commons and would not be able to be a candidate in an immediate contest.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting and former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, both sitting MPs, are also expected to stand if a leadership contest is triggered.
West also left the door open to abandoning her bid altogether: “If suddenly [Starmer] gets the bit between his teeth and I can see some more fight, then things might change.”
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West requires the support of 81 MPs, representing 20 percent of the PLP, to kickstart a contest.
She said she wants to “give a deadline” of Tuesday morning to avoid the challenge going “on and on,” because “sometimes these things fizzle out.”
West’s challenge would be a blow to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s leadership ambitions as he does not sit in the House of Commons and would not be able to be a candidate in an immediate contest.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting and former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, both sitting MPs, are also expected to stand if a leadership contest is triggered.
West also left the door open to abandoning her bid altogether: “If suddenly [Starmer] gets the bit between his teeth and I can see some more fight, then things might change.”