UK Starmer defies as calls for resignation grow and minister quits – nationally
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told members of his Cabinet on Tuesday that he has no intention of resigning as calls from his Labor Party for him to step down grow louder.
Starmer is trying to find support in his Cabinet following a bitter few days following the Labor Party’s heavy defeat in the local elections last week, which if repeated in the general election would see it heavily ousted from power.
This meeting, which lasted about an hour, took place as about 80 people who represented the party, or about a fifth of the members of the party in the House of Commons, said that Starmer must step down, or at least set a timetable for his departure. Under Labor Party rules, 81 MPs are needed to officially start a leadership contest.
However, no one has yet announced that they will stand for the leadership, and directly challenge Starmer.
On Tuesday, junior minister Miatta Fahnbulleh became the first member of her government to resign, urging Starmer to “do the right thing for the country” and set a timetable for her departure.
Fahnbulleh, who is considered a leftist in the party, said he was proud of his work, but the government did not do it with the vision, speed and mandate to change given by the voters.
“And we have never governed as a Labor Party that is clear about our values and strong in our beliefs,” he said.
Although he won a landslide election victory in July 2024, Labour’s popularity has plummeted and Starmer is receiving a lot of blame.
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The reasons are varied, including a series of policy missteps, a perceived lack of vision, the struggling British economy and questions about his decision – especially regarding his appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to Washington despite the ambassador’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
At the start of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said he was committed to losing last week’s UK general election but would continue to fight. Labor is being squeezed from right and left, losing votes to both the anti-immigrant Reform UK and the “eco-populist” Green Party, as well as nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales. The result reflects the growing polarization of UK politics, which has long been dominated by Labor and the Conservatives.
Starmer said there was a plan to topple the leader and it hadn’t started yet.
Under Labor rules, candidates must have the support of a fifth of the party’s members in the House of Commons – which currently stands at 81.
“The country expects us to continue to govern,” Starmer said. “The last 48 hours have been a downgrade in government and that has a real economic cost to our country and families.”
That cost was reflected in financial markets on Tuesday, as the interest rate charged on British government bonds rose more than in similar countries – indicating that investors are placing a higher value on taking on government debt.
As Cabinet ministers left 10 Downing Street, some voiced support for the embattled prime minister.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said no one publicly challenged Starmer at the meeting, while Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the prime minister was showing “really strong leadership.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, long believed to be preparing to challenge Starmer for the leadership, did not comment as he left the meeting.
“Wes Streeting, do you want a job or not?” one person shouted from across the street. “Are you measuring the curtains?”
He was among the chief ministers who blocked a number of questions that have been popping up from journalists outside.
Although there is no one in his Cabinet who has challenged Starmer, he will know that someone else in the parliamentary group who could revive the leadership process.
The next UK general election is not due to be held until 2029, but British politics allows parties to change leaders mid-year without the need for a general election.
Starmer was hoping to regain momentum with a speech on Monday aimed at launching his campaign, as well as cheap plans to be unveiled by King Charles III during the opening of Parliament on Wednesday.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
