Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure after Labour’s poor performance in recent local elections, with reports that between 55 and 69 Labour MPs have called for his resignation. Some Cabinet ministers are reportedly preparing to tell him to step down, and four senior figures were said to be heading to Downing Street. Labour lost roughly 1,100 council seats while Reform UK gained about 1,400 of roughly 5,000 contested seats. Starmer acknowledged the setback in a speech but critics described it as insubstantial.
Labour Revolt: Dozens Of MPs And Cabinet Figures Urge Keir Starmer To Resign After Local Election Rout
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing intensifying pressure from within his own party after the Labour Party suffered heavy losses in last week’s local elections, U.K. reports said on Monday.
Bloomberg reported that 55 Labour MPs had called for Starmer to quit on Monday, and The Economist correspondent Mike Bird later said the number had risen to 69 by 8:00 p.m. local time. With Labour holding 403 seats in Parliament, 69 dissenting MPs would represent nearly one in five of the party's parliamentary ranks.
Sky News political editor Beth Rigby reported that some Cabinet ministers were preparing to tell Starmer "the game is up," and The Mail on Sunday columnist Dan Hodges said four senior Cabinet figures were heading to Downing Street to urge the prime minister to step down.
Starmer sought to respond and to rally the party in a Monday address, acknowledging responsibility for Labour’s poor showing and the public’s frustration with the state of British politics. He said:
"I know that people are frustrated by the state of Britain, frustrated by politics, and some people are frustrated with me. I know I have my doubters, and I know I need to prove them wrong, and I will."
Broadcasters and pundits were unconvinced his remarks quelled the backlash. Rigby described the speech on television as offering little substantive change, calling it "really quite thin gruel."
Election Losses And Local Upheaval
The local defeats were extensive and included losses in long-standing Labour strongholds. Labour lost control of Hartlepool, Redditch and Tamworth in quick succession. The result in Tameside was particularly striking: with only a third of seats up for election, Labour lost 16 of the 17 seats it was defending on the council, which had been under Labour control for 47 years.
Nationally, Labour lost roughly 1,100 council seats while the right-wing Reform UK gained about 1,400 seats. Around 5,000 council seats were contested in total.
International Reaction
Starmer has also been criticized by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who said in March that the U.K. had failed to offer help at the start of the Iran conflict and that "We don't need people that join Wars after we've already won!"
The calls for Starmer to resign come less than two years after he became prime minister in July 2024, and they underscore an uncertain period for Labour as the party assesses leadership, strategy and how to respond to the rise of Reform UK.
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