UK’s Keir Starmer faces likely challenge following Labour’s election defeat

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer is likely to face a leadership challenge amid calls from parliamentarians for him to step down following the Labour Party’s stunning loss in local elections.

Backbencher Labour MP Catherine West urged cabinet ministers to “move quickly” to replace him, saying she planned to email her colleagues for the necessary support on Monday morning if no one else put themselves forward.

More than 30 Labour MPs have said Starmer should resign or set out timetables for his departure, including his former ally Josh Simons, who wrote in The Times that Starmer had “lost the country”.

Last week’s elections saw Labour lose almost 1,500 councillors in England, largely to Reform UK and the Greens. In Wales, First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat, ending the party’s 27 years in power there. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party retained its position, with Labour coming second.

Others remain supportive of the prime minister, including Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who told Sky News that she did not believe “a leadership contest and all of the problems that that would bring is the answer”.

Starmer is set to give a speech on Monday, along with the king’s speech on Wednesday, that will attempt to convince the public and his party of his leadership. In it, he is expected to argue that his government will be “defined by rebuilding our relationship and by putting Britain at the heart of Europe”, the Reuters news agency reported.

Labour failed to sustain ‘public’s trust’

In an op-ed in The Guardian on Friday, Starmer took responsibility for the results, noting the Labour Party has “not sustained the public’s trust that we are doing enough” to deliver change. He said while it was important to respond to the message voters sent, “that doesn’t mean tacking right or left”.

Starmer appointed former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former deputy Labour leader Baroness Harman to key government positions on Saturday in what is seen as a bid to shore up support.

A leadership contest requires the endorsement of 81 Labour MPs. Likely challengers to the leadership include Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Starmer’s government has been in power since 2024, when it ended 14 years of Conservative rule in a landslide victory. His popularity has since fallen, with the decision to cut the winter fuel allowance amid a cost-of-living crisis and the scandal over United States Ambassador Peter Mendelson’s links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contributing to this decline.

During this time, support has grown for right-wing Reform UK, and the Green Party under progressive Zack Polanski, who has been vocal in his criticism of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.