Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appears to be on the brink of resigning this morning as he prepares to face a mutinous Cabinet for a showdown over his future.
IN the past hour, Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and one of the PM's key allies, failed to say Sir Keir would lead Labour into the next general election as pressure mounted on the Prime Minister following last week’s disastrous local election results.
At the weekend, Sir Keir insisted he wanted to govern for a decade and fight the next election, expected in 2029. However, his attempt to reset his premiership with a major speech on Monday appears to have backfired, triggering fresh calls for him to quit.
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Mr Jones said: “He’s listening to colleagues, and he’s talking to colleagues … I can’t say what decision he may or may not take. I’m not going to get ahead of the Prime Minister’s decision.”
The remarks came after 79 Labour MPs publicly called for Sir Keir to resign, including six ministerial aides who quit the Government to back the growing rebellion.
Senior Labour figures are now openly questioning whether the Prime Minister can survive, with at least three Cabinet ministers reportedly urging him privately to consider his position.
Among them is Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, according to reports overnight, in what many MPs believe could prove a fatal blow to Sir Keir’s premiership.
Cabinet ministers are expected to confront the Prime Minister directly when they meet this morning for the first time since Labour’s bruising local election losses.
One MP involved in the rebellion said: “This is happening because the Cabinet hasn’t stepped up. This could have been a lot more orderly. They should do it tomorrow at the Cabinet meeting.”
Sir Keir attempted to steady his leadership on Monday with a speech promising bold action, including nationalising British Steel and pursuing a closer relationship with the EU. He acknowledged MPs were “frustrated” and admitted that “incremental change won’t cut it”.
But the intervention failed to calm growing unrest inside the Parliamentary Labour Party.
A serving minister described the speech as “too little too late”, while a senior Labour source said it had been “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.
The scale of the revolt has prompted comparisons with the downfall of Boris Johnson in 2022, after six parliamentary private secretaries resigned to demand Sir Keir’s departure.
Attention is now turning to possible successors, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham both being discussed by Labour MPs as potential contenders should a leadership contest begin.