Main Points
- A third minister has resigned - Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for victims
- Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, has resigned, Sky News is reporting
- This follows the resignation of Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister for devolution, faith and communities, who called on Keir Starmer to go
- The British prime minister told his cabinet this morning he intends to fight on amid calls for his resignation
- No one challenged Starmer at the cabinet meeting nor suggested he should go, Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, said
- More than 70 of the 403 Labour MPs have called on him to resign or set out a timeline for departure
- Under Labour Party rules, a leadership challenger requires support from 20 per cent of Labour MPs (81)
- Starmer has been under huge pressure following his party’s dire performance in elections last week
Key Reads
- Starmer clings on as Labour ministers call on him to resign
- Matthew O’Toole: Nigel Farage’s success gives Ireland an urgent deadline
- Trickle of Starmer dissenters becomes a flood
- Message from the Editor: Britain’s new politics
Starmer has been a ‘breath of fresh air’ for Ireland
The Irish Government is likely to be sorry to see Starmer go if he is forced out in the coming days, writes Political Editor Pat Leahy.
Relations between Dublin and the British governments led by Theresa May, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson were extremely difficult due to Brexit, though they recovered somewhat under Rishi Sunak during his relatively short period in charge.
Under Starmer, however, there has been a revival of the previously close – and personally warm – relations between Government Buildings and Downing Street.
Former senior diplomat Bobby McDonagh, who served as Ireland’s ambassador in London, said Starmer had been “a breath of fresh air”.
His understanding of Northern Ireland and his desire to establish a closer relationship with the EU has facilitated much closer co-operation with Dublin. The Irish Government was happy to support Starmer and help with relations with Brussels. The British prime minister struck up good personal relationships, first with Simon Harris and latterly with Micheál Martin.
The Coalition will watch events in Westminster closely as they unfold. Dealing with new governments and new people, though, is a constant in diplomacy.
“You deal with the government of the day and you do outreach to other people,” says McDonagh.
Sources acknowledged, though, that it’s hard to establish relationships with the government of the day when it keeps changing. If Starmer goes, the UK will be planning for its fifth prime minister since Brexit was officially enacted in 2020.
More than 100 Labour MPs sign letter saying it’s ‘no time for leadership contest’
More than 100 Labour MPs have signed a letter saying this is “no time for a leadership contest”, The Guardian is reporting.
103 backbenchers and parliamentary private secretaries have signed the statement, which was organised by a group of backbenchers, many from the 2024 intake.
So far, the number exceeds those calling for him to quit.
The letter says: “Last week we had a devastatingly tough set of election results. It shows we have a hard job ahead to win back trust from the electorate.”
“That job needs to start today – with all of us working together to deliver the change the country needs. We must focus on that. This is no time for a leadership contest.”
This means the pro-Starmer camp is outnumbering the anti-Starmer camp – but only just. According to the LabourList tally, 88 Labour MPs have said the PM should go.
Who are the favourites to replace Starmer if he goes?
In December, our London Correspondent Mark Paul predicted that Keir Starmer would face a leadership challenge during 2026 and looked at those in the running to replace him.
Starmer’s Downing Street team saw health secretary Wes Streeting as the biggest threat.
“He is a strong media performer and is viewed as being as articulate and smooth as Starmer is stilted. He is on the right of the Labour Party but he has genuine working class credentials – an East End London boy who made it to Cambridge University,” he wrote.
Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister and housing secretary’s career looked to be in tatters in September when she quit after it emerged she had had underpaid stamp duty on a flat. But she never went away – and has made no secret of her leadership ambitions.
Polling, meanwhile, shows Andy Burnham would be preferred as prime minister over Nigel Farage by the country as a whole.
He faces a major obstacle, however, in that he is not an MP – you cannot run for the Labour leadership if you do not hold a Westminster seat.
Third minister resigns, saying Starmer must quit
A third minister has resigned – Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for victims. Like Jess Phillips, Davies-Jones described Keir Starmer as a good man in her resignation letter. But she said Labour must respond to the message sent by the “catastrophic” election results.
Davies-Jones represents Pontypridd in south Wales, where the Labour defeat was particularly disastrous.
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips resigns
Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, has resigned, Sky News is reporting.
She says she can no longer support Keir Starmer as PM.
Phillips is an ally of Wes Streeting’s.
Analysis: Starmer digs in – but will his ministers stand by him?
Mark Paul, our London Correspondent, writes:
Standing here on Downing Street, it is clear that Starmer is digging in.
As UK cabinet members marched out of Number 10 after their meeting with the prime minister, several Starmer loyalists made a point of approaching the press pack to give brief statements supportive of their man.
Peter Kyle, the business secretary and close Starmer ally, and fellow Starmerite Steve Reed, the housing secretary, both gave brief versions of “the prime minister intends to get on with running the country”.
One who did not stop and speak to the media, however, was health secretary Wes Streeting, who is seen as a prime leadership contender should Starmer be challenged. Usually chatty to journalists, Streeting walked away stony-faced towards his waiting ministerial car.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood, who reportedly asked Starmer on Monday to set a departure date, left via another exit, away from the gaze of the media.
Starmer is essentially telling his challengers to come and have a go at him if they want his job.
The chaos in British politics continues, barely 24 hours before British king Charles is due in the parliament on Wednesday, where he will give a speech in the House of Lords laying out the government’s legislative priorities. But for how much longer will Starmer’s administration be in place?
‘No challenges’ against Starmer at cabinet meeting
No one challenged Keir Starmer at the cabinet meeting nor suggested he should go, Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, said.
Speaking to reporters as he left Number 10, McFadden said the government should “carry on”.
‘The PM has my full support’: Starmer loyalists brief the media
Mark Paul, our London Correspondent at Number 10 Downing Street, writes:
Cabinet ministers are leaving Number 10 and it is striking that Keir Starmer’s loyalists are stopping to express their support for the prime minister to the waiting media.
“Keir is showing steadfast leadership,” says business secretary Peter Kyle, a known Starmer loyalist.
Steve Reed, the housing minister, another ally of Starmer, says members of the cabinet intend to “get on with their jobs”.
Liz Kendall, the science minister, says: “The PM has my full support.”
Others such as Wes Streeting and Ed Miliband, however, have walked past the waiting media without commenting.
Steve Reed backs Starmer, says ministers intend to ‘get on with our jobs’
Steve Reed, the housing secretary, has left Number 10 after cabinet. Speaking to reporters, he reiterated what Keir Starmer said in his statement.
“The prime minister has my full support. The Labour Party has a process for triggering a leadership election. That has not happened. So we all intend to get on with our jobs, and that is what I intend to do.”
Starmer intends to fight on
Mark Paul, our London Correspondent at Number 10 Downing Street, writes:
News is emerging from Downing Street that Starmer has told his cabinet he intends to fight on. He has said he takes responsibility for staying on and for the election results.
“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered,” he said. “The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet.”
He said Labour has an established process to trigger a leadership contest and that has not been triggered so far. So it seems Starmer does not – yet – intend to give up in the face of pressure from his rivals.
The fevered atmosphere is ramping up here now in Westminster, with many waiting to see whether any senior government resignations will follow after MPs who were junior aides have already quit.
Cabinet ministers arrive for crunch meeting
Mark Paul, our London Correspondent, writes:
I’m standing on Downing Street directly across from the famous black door of Number 10, where senior UK cabinet members have been arriving in the last few minutes. John Healey, the defence secretary, arrived a few moments ago, as did energy secretary Ed Miliband and Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour Party.
Inside, a crunch cabinet meeting is getting under way that may decide the immediate future of the UK prime minister.
All arriving ministers ignored a cacophony of shouted calls from journalists about whether they were among the senior ministers who had called on Starmer to go.
It seems his cabinet may be split on his future, which doesn’t bode well for Starmer.
The sun is out in central London this morning, and half of the Downing Street buildings are bathed in a golden light. The door to Number 10, however, remains in a dark shadow, at least for now. It may be symbolic of the difficult day ahead for its current occupant.
For how much longer will Starmer reside there? As the resignations from his government continue, we are expected to find out a little later on.
Labour MP Paul Foster calls for Starmer’s resignation
Paul Foster, the Labour MP for South Ribble, has issued a statement calling for Starmer’s resignation.
He wrote: “I want to see Keir Starmer succeed, because if he succeeds, then the country succeeds too ... But last week’s heartbreaking election results sent a clear message from the public that we cannot ignore.”
Labour needed “a leader with the vision to take us into the next chapter” and to “rebuild trust” with communities across the country, he said.
The party needed “a change of direction and, ultimately, a new leader”, he added.
Miatta Fahnbulleh becomes first minister to resign
Calling for Starmer’s resignation, Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister for devolution, faith and communities, has become the first minister to resign.
She has posted on social media urging Starmer to “do the right thing for the country and the Party and set a timetable for an orderly transition”.
An ‘orderly’ or ‘swift transition’? MPs’ language reveals all
Mark Paul, our London Correspondent, writes:
A rough way to distinguish between MPs who may be supporters of Andy Burnham and those of Wes Streeting is to watch the language they use when calling for Starmer to go.
The first cohort of MPs over the weekend calling on the UK prime minister to step aside all used similar versions of the same, co-ordinated wording, such as the need for an “orderly transition of power”.
Louise Haigh was one such MP last Friday. This “orderly” language indicated their preference for a later leadership contest to give Burnham time to return to parliament as MP.
Streeting’s outriders and acolytes were more prominent later on Monday, usually calling for a “swift timetable” for Starmer to quit.
Chris Curtis, who broke ranks to ask Starmer to go on Monday afternoon, used this exact wording – he is one of Streeting’s closest allies.
The “Swifites” want a fast contest that would potentially be held before Burnham was eligible to take part, favouring Streeting.
If Starmer doesn’t resign, how would a challenge work?
Labour has strict rules governing the removal of a party leader, and the system requires lawmakers to coalesce around specific candidates rather than just express “no confidence” in their current leader.
At the moment, most of those against Starmer have called for him to set out a timetable for his own departure - effectively asking him to resign without needing to be forced out.
So, if he doesn’t resign, how would a challenge work?
Any candidate wishing to make a challenge would need to secure the support of 20 per cent of Labour members of parliament.
With Labour holding 403 seats, that equates to 81 backers. Candidates also must meet thresholds for support from grassroots Labour Party organisations, and from affiliated organisations such as trade unions.
Starmer would have an automatic right to be on the ballot paper, if he chose to fight the contest. If only one candidate qualifies, there is no vote: the candidate is elected unopposed as Labour leader and becomes prime minister.
If more than one candidate qualifies, the winner is decided by a ballot of all Labour Party members and affiliates. The winner would then become prime minister. - Reuters
The cabinet meeting is due to begin shortly.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has arrived to Downing Street by car and did not respond to questions from reporters as she entered the building.
Reeves’s fate is closely tied to Starmer’s and a new leader would almost certainly replace her as chancellor.
Starmer is ‘listening to colleagues’, chief secretary says
Starmer is “listening to colleagues” his chief secretary, Darren Jones, has said. Speaking on Times Radio, Jones said: “He’s listening to colleagues and he’s talking to colleagues. I can’t get ahead of any decision he might take.”
He did not rule out the prime minister announcing a resignation timetable.
In an interview with Sky News, he took the same line. Asked if he had spoken to Starmer, Jones said he “spoke to the prime minister last night, as you would expect, and he is talking to colleagues who have raised issues yesterday”.
“But he was also very clear, as I’m sure all of my colleagues are, that coming into the office this morning, as we all are doing, we’re absolutely focused on our jobs, on delivering the things that we’ve promised to deliver for the public.”
Asked if Starmer was considering setting out a timetable for his resignation, Jones said colleagues were “asking the prime minister to consider different options in the future. And, as I say, he rightfully is listening to them”.
Cabinet meeting this morning at 9am as Starmer clings on
The cabinet is meeting this morning, at 9am or soon after.
Yesterday, Starmer said he would fight any bid to force him out, and still wanted to lead Labour into a battle “for Britain’s soul” with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, as he insisted he would also fight any leadership challengers.
He said voters would never forgive Labour if the party turned inwards on itself to focus on a leadership contest in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
Meanwhile, The Guardian is reporting that two senior cabinet ministers – Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary – told the prime minister he should oversee an orderly transition of power.
At least two others – believed to be John Healey and David Lammy – discussed with Starmer how they should take a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might follow, The Guardian reported.
Upwards of 70 Labour MPs call for Starmer to step down
Keir Starmer’s job as UK prime minister appeared to be slipping away from him on Monday night as upwards of 70 of his Labour MPs called on him to step down or set out a timeline for departure.
Several cabinet members were understood to have called for him to set out a timetable for his departure.
Our London Correspondent, Mark Paul, has the full story here.
