Keir Starmer is facing a mounting internal pressure campaign from cabinet ministers to set a timetable for his departure, after Andy Burnham’s landslide victory in the Makerfield by-election opened the door to a leadership challenge.Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has advised the prime minister to set out a timetable to leave office, the BBC has been told. At least two other ministers, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood, have previously suggested Starmer should set out a departure timetable. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is also believed to be considering whether to join calls for his resignation.One cabinet minister, who had not previously told the prime minister to go, said his departure was now inevitable. “Everyone thinks it is over and everyone wants it to be a dignified, orderly exit,” a cabinet source told the Guardian.Burnham, who won the Makerfield by-election with 54.8 per cent of the vote and a majority of 9,231, said the result “could be a turning point” for Labour and that voters had issued a “call of change”.“I want to lay out a new path for Britain,” Burnham said in his victory speech. “There will be no second chance. We must hear it, we must act upon it, and we must get it right.”The result marked Reform UK’s second-highest ever vote share at a by-election, with Robert Kenyon securing 34.5 per cent of the vote. Turnout was 58.75 per cent, the third-highest by-election turnout since the Second World War.Starmer has made clear he will not “walk away”. Speaking to reporters, he said: “If there is a contest, just to be clear with you, then, yes, I will run.” He warned that such a contest would “plunge us into chaos” and said Labour needed to “pull together” to contest the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election triggered by Burnham’s win.But some of Starmer’s closest allies privately concede his premiership is probably over. One MP said they believed there were about 200 Labour MPs prepared, if necessary, to sign Burnham’s nomination papers for a challenge, though his supporters are hoping for a coronation.
Support for Darren Jones as alternative
MPs loyal to Starmer say they are determined to prevent a Burnham coronation and are prepared to rally round Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, as an alternative.“There’s a groundswell of colleagues that are looking to Darren Jones,” one MP told the Guardian. Unlike other potential candidates, Jones has both economic and national security experience, represents a generational break, and has national rather than regional appeal.A source close to Jones said: “Darren agrees with the prime minister that now is not the time for a leadership election.”Two Labour grandees, David Blunkett and Harriet Harman, have also said there should be a timetable for new leadership. Harman told Sky News: “The herd is not just moving against Starmer, it’s stampeding.”Labour MP Jo White, who leads the Red Wall group representing areas that have traditionally backed Labour, said Starmer should “consider his position very, very carefully” over the weekend and announce a “smooth transition” on Monday.Several cabinet ministers expressed a desire to show loyalty, while adding the caveat that they knew the situation made it very difficult for the prime minister to continue. But another said: “There comes a point where you ask: what is more important? Is it loyalty or delivering your agenda?”
Economy cannot afford summer of uncertainty
The chief of business lobby group CBI warned that the country “cannot afford a summer of speculation and drift” as talk grows about a possible leadership challenge.“For strong, stable economic growth you need a strong, stable, consistent government,” CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said.British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson told the BBC it was important for any possible leadership contenders to “stay focused on what matters to retailers and consumers alike”.If Starmer does not resign over the weekend, or indicate that he would allow a transition to a new leader, senior Labour sources said there would be an intervention at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.“The prime minister cannot pull the same move again where he refuses to talk to his own cabinet about his future,” one senior source said. “He has a choice of allowing his cabinet and ministers to show open support for his rivals or risk the same situation as Boris Johnson, where you had three education secretaries in three days.”
