PM turns to old Labour hands after election losses but some MPs left baffled

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a special envoy on global finance, as he attempts to shore up his position after his party suffered heavy election losses.

Downing Street said the prime minister had also hired former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman as an adviser on tackling violence against women and girls.

Brown and Harman, two influential and respected figures in the party, met Sir Keir in Downing Street before their roles were announced.

The prime minister's authority is tottering after Friday's dire election results piled pressure on him, with some Labour MPs calling for him to set a timetable for his departure.

Sir Keir has insisted he would not "walk away and plunge the country into chaos", and members of his cabinet have rallied around him.

The prime minister is planning an attempt to reset his premiership next week by delivering a major speech and unveiling a new programme of legislation.

The appointments of Brown and Baroness Harman signal the prime minister's intentions to refresh his government.

Brown was chancellor before he became prime minister between 2007 and 2010, taking a leading role in the international response to the financial crisis of 2008.

Downing Street said Sir Keir had "committed to boosting the country's security and resilience" and in his role, Brown "will advise on how global finance cooperation can help to achieve this".

Baroness Harman was leader of the House of Commons during Brown's tenure as prime minister, and Labour deputy leader from 2007 to 2015.

Downing Street said Baroness Harman will "advise the PM on how to galvanise government to deliver for women and girls".

"The role will see her draw on work with women across Parliament to identify action needed to tackle misogyny and deliver greater opportunity for women in parliamentary and public life," No 10 said.

Labour ministers, MPs and officials have expressed bafflement at the appearance of two veteran Labour figures.

While both are respected by Labour MPs, their appointments have caused confusion about how figures from Labour's past signify the change the prime minister has promised.

One normally loyal minister told the BBC: "It's a joke. There is no question to which bringing these two back is the answer."

A Labour MP said: "Not sure voters in Wigan, Wandsworth, Salford or Sunderland voted Reform because they thought we needed more advisers from a different era of Labour politics. I think this shows that Keir doesn't even understand the problem, never mind the solution."

And a former Labour adviser said: "Is his plan to combat the notion that he has no ideas to just double down on that and bring in a load of other people to come up with ideas?"

Discontent over the election results is also bursting out into the open, with up to 30 Labour MPs saying publicly that Sir Keir should resign or agree to set out the process for an orderly transition to a new leadership.