More than 60 Labour MPs call on Starmer to set timetable to quit

More than 60 MPs have called on Keir Starmer to set a timetable to depart as prime minister, including backers of his leadership rivals Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting. MPs from across the party’s ranks said the prime minister had failed to convince them he had what it took to lead the country into the next election. In a speech earlier on Monday, Starmer said he would not resign and would prove his doubters wrong, saying Labour was facing “very dangerous opponents” in Reform UK. He said he would fight any leadership challenge and would not walk away from his responsibilities as prime minister. But his speech did not stem the steady flow of statements from MPs which called for the prime minister to announce an orderly transition. Catherine West, who had said she would seek to challenge Starmer if no other candidate emerged, said she would not mount a challenge but instead would collect names of those who wanted to see the PM resign. At Monday lunchtime, the co-chair of the Labour Growth Group, Chris Curtis, once considered a loyalist group, said Starmer could not deliver the change the country needed. “I therefore think it’s time for us to look for new leadership,” he said.“And I think what that means is the prime minister rightly now setting out a timetable and an orderly process for a leadership election, and one in which Labour has a discussion about the vision for the country and what changes we think are needed in order to face the very real challenges that Britain currently faces.”Curtis was the first MP known to be close to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, who called for the prime minister to go. Other MPs have followed, including the Scottish Labour MP Alan Gemmell and Streeting’s constituency neighbour Jas Athwal.“Even in places like Redbridge, where we held up better in the locals, the message from voters was clear: the prime minister has lost the confidence of the country,” Athwal said.“Today’s speech failed to show he can regain that trust or lead us through the huge challenges we face at home and abroad.”Allies of Streeting say he has no plans to speak on Monday and reiterated his support for the prime minister. Dozens more MPs who are backers of Burnham have also called for an orderly transition, which would give time for the Greater Manchester mayor to seek a seat in parliament. MPs often cited the effects of the prime minister’s personal unpopularity on the local election result. Lorraine Beavers, the MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, said: “Without a massive change in approach, when elections are held in my corner of Lancashire next year, voters will send the same message with even greater force.”The Birmingham Erdington MP, Paulette Hamilton, said: “On the doorstep, voters repeatedly told us the same thing, national issues and the party leadership meant they could no longer vote Labour.”Later in the day, three junior frontbenchers – all parliamentary private secretaries – also called for Starmer to go. Streeting’s PPS, Joe Morris, alongside Sally Jameson from the Home Office and Tom Rutland from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Others who have called for the MP to go include many of the 2024 intake, including David Smith, Luke Myer, Markus Campbell-Savours, Tony Vaughan, Fred Thomas and Sarah Smith. Others included ex-ministers Catherine McKinnell and Justin Madders. But others put out statements saying they feared a change of prime minister would cause chaos at a time of economic turmoil and play into the hands of Nigel Farage. The Welwyn Hatfield MP, Andrew Lewin, said on his Substack: “I have learnt enough to identify a trap and not to walk straight into it.“If we grant Farage his wish today, it would not only be a win for our opponents, it would do lasting damage to both the country and the Labour party’s reputation for being able to govern.”