Britain’s Starmer is under pressure after ministers reportedly called for him to resign

LONDON (Reuters) — Keir Starmer came under fresh pressure on Monday as four ministerial aides resigned and more than 70 Labor lawmakers publicly called for his resignation after the British prime minister’s appeals for another chance appeared to have gone unheeded.

In a speech to party members in London, Starmer made an impassioned plea to both the party and voters to support him and avoid a leadership contest that would only bring chaos, but his speech appeared to do little to stem the tide.

The Times newspaper reported that Home Minister Shabana Mahmood and other cabinet ministers have instructed the prime minister to consider setting a timetable for his departure from office as Labor lawmakers publicly express their displeasure over one of the party’s worst defeats in last week’s local elections.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Starmer he must oversee an orderly transition of power, according to the Guardian.

ITV News reported that Starmer’s deputy, David Lammy, had also urged his boss to set a timetable for his departure.

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Four ministerial aides said they were resigning, believing Starmer, 63, was not the man to lead Labor at the next general election scheduled for 2029, hoping to spark a leadership contest that could last for weeks, if not months.

From left, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Justice Chief Executive Michelle Crotty and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy attend a criminal justice bodies conference in London on April 30, 2026. (Dan Kitwood/Pool Photo via AP)

Starmer quickly announced new appointments to fill a number of vacancies.

Nonetheless, Starmer’s attempts to persuade his party and voters that he could be bolder in tackling the numerous problems plaguing Britain after winning a majority in 2024 appeared likely to fail to persuade the very people it was targeting.

A ministerial aide said the PM had lost authority.

Tom Rutland, the environment secretary’s ministerial adviser, said in his resignation letter: “It is clear that the Prime Minister has lost authority, not just in the parliamentary Labor party but across the country, and cannot regain it.”

Catherine West, an unnamed former junior minister who threatened at the weekend to seek a leadership contest if Starmer failed to deliver radical changes, told Reuters she had received 80 responses supporting her call for the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure.

She called for leadership elections to be held in September.

The Times reported that Mahmoud is one of at least three cabinet ministers who have suggested the prime minister should consider his position.

Downing Street officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday morning. According to Sky News, two of Starmer’s closest allies, Housing Secretary Steve Reid and Defense Secretary John Healey, entered the Prime Minister’s Downing Street office late on Monday.

Starmer has previously sought to change the narrative about his premiership, insisting he would now offer a “complete break” on past decision-making that had led to the “status quo”.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in central London to vote in local elections on Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

In any leadership bid, he said continuity would be more important as the conflict in Ukraine and Iran unfolds globally.

Starmer has promised to rule with the “hope” and “urgency” needed to improve living standards and create a “stronger, fairer” Britain before the next general election, defeating the challenge posed by the populist right-wing Reform Party and the left-wing Greens.

‘I will prove them wrong’

“Our response this time must be different. There must be a complete break. We must make this country stronger and get our economic security under control,” Starmer said on Monday morning.

“I know people are frustrated because of the state of Britain, people are frustrated because of politics and some people are frustrated because of me,” he said. “I know there are doubters and I know I have to prove them wrong, and I will do that,” Starmer told the audience of party faithful, who gave him several standing ovations.

The applause was a far cry from the message group of Labor MPs. Talks about removing Starmer have accelerated after Labor lost hundreds of seats in parliamentary elections in England and parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales.

Few Labor MPs were prepared to publicly back Starmer, but the prime minister’s closest allies again warned that removing the leader so early in his term would only do greater harm to Britain.

“Changing leaders will only lead to chaos,” Reid said on social media, referring to the opposition Conservatives. “We saw what happened under the Conservatives. Let’s learn from them and not repeat their mistakes.”

But Reed seemed to be a lone voice. Early attempts to oust Starmer received strong support from most of his top cabinet minister team.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left), former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are meeting with students at a primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne, northwest England, on April 13, 2026. (Paul Ellis/Pool Photo via AP)

Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, seen as a potential challenger to the leadership after criticizing Starmer’s strategy on Sunday, told a union conference that the government would be “judged by our actions, not our words”.

Starmer has long said he would not voluntarily quit his job and his team said the speech was a way for the often quiet-spoken former lawyer to demonstrate his determination to serve not only his party but the wider country.

In that position, he promised to build closer ties with Europe, nationalize major steel businesses and do more to help young people find employment.

“I’m not leaving,” Starmer said.

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