Four secretaries of state resigned this Tuesday, May 12 to express their distrust of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Despite the numerous calls for his resignation which illustrate the growing unrest within his camp, the Labor leader says he wants to “continue to govern”.
The political fate of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer seems to be hanging by a thread. Calls for his resignation within his camp are increasing. The speech he gave this Monday, May 11, considered crucial after Labour’s bitter electoral defeat last Thursday in the local elections, failed to appease his ranks. On the contrary, it only increased the pressure.
According to our colleagues across the Channel, such as the BBC and The Times, 81 MPs explicitly asked the Labor leader to resign or to establish a timetable for his departure. A key figure because to launch a procedure challenging the leadership of the party, 20% of Labor MPs, or 81, must publicly support another candidate. Please note, this is not the case at this stage, but the symbolism is there.
Distrust of Keir Starmer has spread even within his government. Before the start of the council of ministers this Tuesday, May 12, the Secretary of State for Housing, Miatta Fahnbulleh, announced her resignation. “Our country faces enormous challenges and people are crying out for the scale of change this requires. The public does not believe you are capable of leading this change – and neither do I,” she said in a letter to the Prime Minister.
Then, at the end of the council of ministers, two other secretaries of state announced their resignation: Jess Phillips, responsible for the fight against violence against women, and Alex Davies-Jones, responsible for victims, specifies Sky News.
“I want the Labor government to work, and I will strive, as I always have, to ensure its success and popularity; but I am not seeing the change that I think I and the country expect, and so I cannot continue as a minister under the current leadership,” MP Jess Phillips said in a letter to To Keir Starmer.
The Secretary of State for Health, Zubir Ahmed, also resigned. In a letter published on
“It is clear from recent days that the British public has now irremediably lost confidence in you as Prime Minister,” he adds, addressing Keir Starmer directly.
Government heavyweights also called on the latter to step down, according to British media. Among them, Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood. Even Darren Jones, close to Keir Starmer, showed great caution: “I’m not going to pre-empt a decision that the Prime Minister may or may not make,” he declared on Sky News.
“The country expects us to continue to govern”
Despite the pressure, Keir Starmer does not intend to resign. He indicated to his ministers meeting at Downing Street that he wanted to “continue to govern”, according to a government press release. “The country expects us to continue to govern. This is what I do and what we must do as a government,” he declared while saying “take responsibility” for the electoral results.
“I am committed to implementing the change we promised (…) The last 48 hours have been destabilizing for the government, which has a real economic cost for our country and for families”, he underlined before recalling: “the Labor Party has a protest procedure of its leader, and it was not triggered.”
More than 100 Labor MPs signed a letter of support on Tuesday. “We obtained extremely difficult electoral results last week. This shows that we must work to regain the trust of the electorate (…) This is not the time to initiate a procedure to challenge the leadership” of the party, these deputies believe in their text.
On X, Housing Secretary Steve Reed warned of the “consequences of instability on people’s lives”. “This is not a game. (….) We must unite behind the Prime Minister,” he wrote.
Likewise on the side of the Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey. “People are worried about current conflicts and looming global crises. They expect their government to guide the country through these, as the Prime Minister is doing. More instability does not serve Britain’s interests,” he said on X.
The Prime Minister can also count on the support of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice David Lammy as well as the Minister of Commerce, Jonathan Reynolds, according to Sky News. While Labor Minister Pat McFadden encouraged him to “keep fighting”.
Many Labor leaders want to avoid reproducing a situation comparable to that of 2022, when the Conservatives had three Prime Ministers in just four months.
Names mentioned for his replacement
A possible departure of Keir Starmer would not lead to legislative elections but his replacement by another Labor figure. The British media have been mentioning several names for weeks. That of Wes Streeting, the current Minister of Health, appears to be the simplest option. Wes Streeting, 43, being elected to the House of Commons, condition sine qua non to be able to be head of government.
A serious contender is Andy Burnham, 56, mayor of the Manchester metropolitan area and the most popular Labor figure according to polls. But he cannot run for lack of a seat in Parliament. Organizing an election could take several months and would involve an MP from a “safe” constituency resigning to make way for him. The name of former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, 46, is also regularly mentioned in the press.
Keir Starmer’s popularity has collapsed since he came to power following Labor’s landslide victory in the 2024 legislative elections, which ended 14 years of Conservative governments. His detractors highlight his multiple missteps, reversals, and controversies – notably the scandal surrounding the nomination as ambassador to Washington of the contested Labor figure Peter Mandelson.
Discontent within his party rose further after last Thursday’s local elections. Labor has lost ground to Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party even in its strongholds in the working-class north of England and Wales. And the Greens, further to the left, took away votes in London.
This political storm comes in a context of international turbulence exacerbated by the war in the Middle East, and on a national level at a particularly delicate moment, on the eve of a speech by King Charles III who is due to outline the legislative program for the coming year.
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