Pressure mounts on Starmer as aides quit and Labour MPs call for his exit

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced intensifying pressure on Monday after three ministerial aides resigned and more than 60 Labour lawmakers publicly urged him to step down, as his appeal for more time appeared to win little support.

At a gathering of party supporters in London, Starmer urged both Labour members and voters to stay with him and avoid a leadership contest, saying such a battle would only create chaos. He also pledged to take a bolder approach.

In the speech, Starmer effectively acknowledged that he had been too cautious in dealing with the many challenges Britain has faced since Labour secured a large majority in 2024. However, the address did little to calm anger within the party after Labour suffered one of its worst setbacks in last week’s local elections.

Resignations add to pressure

Three ministerial aides said they were leaving their posts because they no longer believed Starmer, 63, was the right person to lead Labour into the next national election, which is due in 2029. They said they hoped their resignations would help bring about a leadership contest that could run for weeks or even months.

"It is clear to me that the prime minister has lost authority not just within the parliamentary Labour Party but across the country and that he will not be able to regain it," Tom Rutland, a ministerial aide to the environment minister, said after quitting.

Catherine West, described in the report as a little-known former junior minister, had emerged over the weekend to warn that she would seek a leadership contest if Starmer did not present radical change. She told Reuters that she had received 80 responses backing her call for the prime minister to announce a timetable for his departure.

West said she wanted a leadership election to take place in September.

Starmer seeks to reset premiership

Earlier in the day, Starmer tried to recast the direction of his premiership, saying he would deliver a complete break from the style of decision-making that had produced the status quo.

Despite that message, the pressure on his leadership continued to build through the day.

According to Sky News, two of Starmer’s closest allies — environment minister Steve Reed and defence minister John Healey — went into Starmer’s Downing Street office on Monday night. Officials did not respond to a request for comment on whether the meeting had been scheduled.

The developments came after Labour’s poor performance in local elections deepened unrest inside the party and raised fresh questions over Starmer’s ability to retain authority among MPs and the wider public.

His latest appeal to the party was framed as an argument against a divisive internal contest, but the resignations and public calls for him to go indicated that opposition within Labour remained strong.