Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hanging on by his fingernails after his party got destroyed in local elections last week. This morning he held a meeting with his own cabinet ministers at No. 10 Downing Street in which he doubled-down on his commitment to continue as PM and dared anyone to challenge him.
More than 80 Labour lawmakers have called for the prime minister to step down or say when he will depart, including several members of his inner government Cabinet.
But in a crunch meeting with ministers inside No. 10 Downing St. early Tuesday, Starmer faced down the growing mutiny.
“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do,” Starmer said, according to his office
NBC reports that one of Starmer’s arguments for why he shouldn’t agree to step down is that it would be create a short term economic cost by rattling the markets. In effect, removing him is a luxury Britain can’t afford.
“I take responsibility for these election results and I take responsibility for delivering the change we promised,” Starmer said. But he echoed the remaining loyalists who say a leadership contest would be distracting at a time when the country needs real solutions to its longstanding issues.
“The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families,” Starmer said.
Starmer is aided in his quest to hang on to power by a unique feature of how the Labour party handles transitions.
…the Conservatives have a system under which their lawmakers sign anonymous letters of no confidence in their leader and, when a threshold is reached, a contest is triggered. By contrast, Labour’s rules require 81 lawmakers to support a single, alternative, candidate. While around that number of MPs have called on Starmer to step down or set a timetable to resign, they have not rallied around one potential successor.
Despite Sir Keir’s efforts, three of his ministers resigned this morning.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, a junior minister, resigned from the government just as the cabinet meeting started. A second junior minister, Jess Phillips, resigned later, writing that Mr. Starmer was “a good man fundamentally” but that he had been too unwilling to fight for the things the Labour Party believes in. A third minister, Alex Davies-Jones, resigned soon after.
Here’s Jess Phillips resignation letter:
EXCLUSIVE: Jess Phillips, safeguarding minister, resigns from govt. “The desire not to have an argument means we rarely make an argument…” pic.twitter.com/cC6hGFL1Rl
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) May 12, 2026
Starmer is not without support and this morning 100 back benchers (about 25% of the total) signed a letter urging him to stay on and calling on other Labour MP’s to rally around him. However, as the day wears on the number of MP’s calling for his ouster keeps growing. It was around 80 when he spoke to cabinet ministers this morning and as the work day ends in London the Telegraph reports the tally is up to 91.
Jen Craft has urged Sir Keir Starmer to resign, becoming the 91st MP to do so.
The MP for Thurrock said: “It is after much consideration, and with a heavy heart, that I have decided the Prime Minister must step aside.
“It is time for a change in leadership – for someone to set out a clear, strategic vision and direction for our party and for the country. I urge the Prime Minister to step aside to enable this to happen.”
Again, a challenger only needs 20% of the members (81 at present) to trigger a vote, but under Labour’s rules that person would have to put themselves forward and prove there are 81 people in support of them as a replacement. So having 91 who want Keir to go isn’t enough unless they all settle on the same person.
The person most likely to make that challenge is Health Minister Wes Streeting and there are some signs it could be coming soon.
An ally of Wes Streeting has resigned from Sir Keir Starmer’s Government as the Prime Minister continues to fight for his future.
Zubir Ahmed, a Health Minister, said it is “clear from recent days that the public across the UK has now irretrievably lost confidence in you as Prime Minister.”…
“It is clear from recent days, that the public across the UK has now irretrievably lost confidence in you as Prime Minister.”
He added: “You once also said our work is urgent. I now ask you for the sake of that urgency and that national duty, to step aside and set a timetable for an expedient and orderly transition to new leadership that commands the confidence of our country.”
Streeting apparently waited around after today’s meeting at No. 10 for a chance to talk privately to Starmer. But Starmer refused to given him the time of day and left. So we’ll have to wait and see how things develop. Will those asking Starmer to go rally around Streeting or will they remain divided, giving Starmer a chance to hold on until this crisis passes. We could know by tomorrow.
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