UK PM Starmer Faces Calls to Step Down After Disastrous Elections

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced a direct challenge to his leadership Saturday after former minister Catherine West said she would run for Labour leader if no stronger candidate comes forward.

The threat came after Labour suffered the worst local election losses by a governing party since 1995, less than two years after Starmer led the party to a landslide victory in the general election. The results have intensified pressure from Labour lawmakers, with more than 20 reportedly calling publicly or privately for Starmer to set out a timetable for leaving office.

West told BBC Radio that the cabinet should agree on a plan to replace Starmer by Monday. If no leadership contender emerges, she said, she would put herself forward.

“If there are no leadership hopefuls who come forward tomorrow, then Monday morning I will put my name forward to stand for the leader of the Labour Party,” West said.

Starmer said Saturday that he would not resign, telling British media, “I’m not going to walk away from this.”

A leadership challenge would not be simple. Under Labour rules, any candidate would need the public support of 20% of Labour MPs. With Labour holding 403 seats, that means 81 backers are required. West said she currently has 10 names behind her, but added that she would prefer another candidate to enter the race.

Several possible successors face obstacles. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham does not currently hold a seat in parliament, which he would need to run. Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has not fully resolved the tax issues that led to her resignation last year. Health Minister Wes Streeting is seen as damaged by his ties to Peter Mandelson, the former ambassador to the United States who was dismissed over his connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

The mounting pressure prompted Starmer to bring two senior Labour figures into his team in an attempt to reset his leadership. Former prime minister Gordon Brown and former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman, both 75, were named as advisers earlier Saturday.

Brown is expected to focus on defense and security investment, as well as relations with the European Union, while Harman will work on issues including misogyny, violence against women and economic opportunity.

Starmer said both figures would help strengthen the country and create “hope for a better future.” But West’s intervention only hours later showed that the move had not stopped the internal pressure, with Labour lawmakers increasingly alarmed by the scale of the party’s defeat and the risk of further political collapse.