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Reform investigates whether Makerfield candidate’s sexist posts were costly

result had been “a dramatic, emphatic win for Andy Burnham”, Farage said in the message. Reform had hoped to win at least 18,000 votes, against the 15,696 it achieved, Farage said, arguing that

UK borrowing costs fall and pound rises as Starmer says he will remain as PM

Keir Starmer vowed to remain as prime minister](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/08/keir-starmer-local-election-losses-labour) despite the Labour party losing hundreds of council seats across England. Investors calculated that some of the intense pressure on Starmer’s leadership

Andy Burnham to make bid to return to Commons as pressure mounts on Starmer

Starmer's leadership. Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, said he would seek permission to run for Labour in Makerfield after Labour MP Josh Simons said he would resign to make way for him. It came

Local election campaigning enters final week as forecaster warns Labour could lose 1,850 English seats –UK politics live

Labour could lose 1,850 English seats –UK politics live Good morning. We are now into the final week of campaigning for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English local elections. Keir Starmer had been

Starmer tells cabinet he will not quit without leadership challenge

Keir Starmer has told his cabinet he will not resign as prime minister, saying the threshold for a leadership challenge has not been met. In comments that effectively dared the health secretary, Wes Streeting

Plaid Cymru tipped to be biggest party in Senedd, ending 100 years of Labour control

elected under a new more proportional voting system, a spokesperson said it is now expecting about 10 out of 90. Morgan called Labour’s prospects “catastrophic” in a concession speech, in which she said

Historic win for SNP but change and challenges ahead at Holyrood

result was eventually declared in Inverness in the wee small hours, in a counting centre littered with empty pizza boxes, there was not even a crumb of comfort for the party. Scottish Labour leader. Anas

Andy Burnham seeks advice from Sue Gray on forming future Labour government

Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, on how to manage a potential transition into Downing Street if he returns to Westminster and succeeds the prime minister. Gray is understood to have advised Burnham

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

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

Burnham cleared to run for selection in pivotal by-election

Keir Starmer as prime minister. The prime minister is continuing to resist calls to stand down and set a timetable for his departure and is expected to fight any challenge from Burnham or other likely

'We need to move quickly,' says Labour MP seeking to challenge PM

results, Phillipson said people did not feel the Labour government had "delivered" on the change it promised in the 2024 general election. The Cabinet minister warned that the rise of Reform UK - which made huge

Britain faces weeks of leadership limbo in slow-motion coup against Starmer

Keir Starmer has not even faced a formal challenge to his leadership yet. Instead, he is facing a slow-motion coup that could drag on for weeks, with no guarantee that the many Labour

Friday briefing: Andy Burnham wins Makerfield byelection to set up possible leadership bid

Keir Starmer should agree to an “orderly and managed” handover of power. After a week in which Starmer doubled down on his vow to stay put as prime minister, despite more than 100 backbenchers having

Most Labour members think Starmer cannot revive party fortunes, poll finds

Keir Starmer’s party. Among members, the poll found Burnham has a net favourability of 72%, suggesting he would be likely to win any leadership contest that he was allowed to contest. Burnham cannot

Starmer to meet Streeting on Wednesday as leadership crisis divides Labour

election results or his leadership, and would only speak to cabinet ministers about those topics "individually". The BBC understands several cabinet ministers tried to talk to Sir Keir about his leadership after the cabinet meeting

Catherine West backs down from Starmer challenge but urges him to go by September

Keir Starmer’s leadership, has changed course and said she instead wants the prime minister to set a timetable of September for his departure. West, the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet and a former

More than 100 Labour MPs sign statement against Starmer leadership challenge

Labour MPs have signed a statement saying this is “no time for a leadership contest” – as [Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer) told his cabinet he would not stand down while a formal leadership contest

Healey quits as defence secretary in row over military spending

election results in England, Scotland and Wales last month, although he has [told supporters he will stand in any Labour leadership contest](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3vyxzl625po). Internal wrangling over defence spending has been rumbling

Close Starmer ally declines to say if he will lead Labour into next election

results across England, Wales and Scotland last week. Asked if Starmer would be leading Labour into the next election, Jones said: “I’m not going to get ahead of any decision that the prime minister

Monday briefing: Will the international effort to stop the further spread of hantavirus be successful?

election results. We’ll be bringing you the latest on backbench MP Catherine West’s (likely futile) attempt to topple Keir Starmer, alongside the rest of the fallout. Today, though, we kick off with something