AFP, LONDON
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday told his top team that he was getting on with governing the UK, defying mounting calls from ministers and members of parliament (MPs) to step down. The Labour prime minister dared any leadership hopefuls to challenge him, but his position looked precarious after two junior ministers resigned from his government, which could trigger a domino effect.“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered,” Starmer told ministers during crunch talks over his future, as no one person has stepped forward to challenge him yet.
Pedestrians walk past artist Kaya Mar’s latest painting depicting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer near Downing Street, London, yesterday.
Photo: AP
“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet,” he added, on what was the most crucial day yet of almost two years as prime minister. At least 80 of Labour’s 403 MPs have now called for Starmer to quit immediately, or to set out a timetable for his resignation.
Starmer’s vow on Monday to fight on and prove his doubters wrong did little to calm the clamor for his removal. Miatta Fahnbulleh yesterday became the first junior minister to resign, calling on Starmer “to do the right thing for the country and the party, and set a timetable for an orderly transition.”Jess Phillips then quit as safeguarding minister, telling Starmer in a letter that she was not seeing the change “I, and the country expect.”British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood late on Monday became the most senior government figure to advise Starmer to consider his position, UK media reported. Newspapers reported that other senior ministers, including British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and Yvette Cooper had spoken to Starmer about his position. Pressure on Starmer has been soaring since Labour suffered disastrous local election results last week, losing hundreds of councilors to the hard-right Reform UK party and the left-wing populist Greens. Labour also lost its century-old dominance in Wales and was hammered by the Scottish National Party in the devolved parliament in Edinburgh. The results added to a miserable few months for Starmer, who has been engulfed in scandal over his decision to appoint — and then sack — Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington. Mandelson was a former friend of US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Starmer earlier this year fended off calls to quit over his decision to appoint him. Starmer has also failed to spur promised economic growth to help British citizens suffering with the cost of living. Starmer on Monday pledged that Labour would be “better” and bolder to assuage disgruntled voters impatient for change, but dozens of Labour MPs later urged him to step down, including four government aides who resigned their positions. Several Cabinet ministers backed Starmer after the meeting, including British Secretary of Defence John Healey who warned that “more instability is not in Britain’s interest.”Under party rules, any challenger would need the support of 81 Labour MPs — 20 percent of the party in parliament — to trigger a leadership contest. Starmer has vowed to contest any challenge.