UK Labour Nears Full Revolt Against Starmer

Seventy-eight Labour MPs have now called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign or set out a timetable for leaving office, as pressure on his leadership deepens following Labour’s heavy local election losses.

The BBC reported Tuesday that the number of Labour MPs calling for Starmer to go has reached just under 20% of the party’s 403 MPs, the threshold needed to trigger a formal leadership challenge.

Starmer told his cabinet that he intends to continue governing and said the party’s formal process for challenging a leader has not yet been activated.

“As I said yesterday, I take responsibility for these election results and I take responsibility for delivering the change we promised,” Starmer told ministers.

He said the turmoil of the past 48 hours had been destabilizing for the government and carried “a real economic cost” for the country and families.

“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered,” he said. “The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet.”

The pressure grew further after Miatta Fahnbulleh became the first government minister to resign over Starmer’s leadership. Fahnbulleh, a junior minister for devolution, faith and communities, was first elected to Parliament in 2024 and had previously worked as head of the New Economics Foundation, a left-wing think tank.

Her resignation is notable because she is a close ally of Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader and current senior cabinet minister. Fahnbulleh previously served under Miliband in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero before moving to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

In her resignation letter, Fahnbulleh said the government had not acted with the “vision, pace and ambition” required by its mandate. She cited the winter fuel payment issue and cuts to support for disabled people as mistakes that damaged public trust.

“The message on the doorstep was clear: you, Prime Minister, have lost the trust and confidence of the public,” she wrote.

Fahnbulleh did not call for Starmer’s immediate resignation, but urged him to set a timetable for an orderly transition so a new team could lead the party and government.

That approach could leave time for potential leadership contenders to organize, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who would need to return to Parliament before mounting a bid.

Starmer’s position now depends on whether the rebellion crosses the formal threshold and whether cabinet ministers continue to hold the line behind him.