Sir Keir Starmer has said he fully intends to stay on as Prime Minister and leader of Labour until the next election, despite dozens of MPs calling for him to go. The PM’s grip on power is looking weaker than ever after the torrid week that followed a disastrous set of Scottish, Welsh and local elections for his party.
Speculation about a potential leadership challenge has dominated Westminster, particularly since Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary last Thursday. On the same day, Josh Simons announced he would step down as MP for Makerfield in order to give Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham a shot at returning to the Commons. Both Streeting and Burnham are widely expected to be candidates in a race to replace the PM.
But speaking to BBC News today, Starmer was defiant. He said: ‘I do want to fight the next election. Obviously I recognise that after the local election results, the elections in Scotland and Wales as well, that the first task is obviously turning things around. I’m making sure that my focus is in the right place.’
Starmer said there had been ‘a lot of activity’ in the past 10 days since the elections, which ‘hasn’t been as focused as it should have been’.
Asked if he would fight a leadership challenge if one arose, he said: ‘I’ve said I don’t know how many times that I’m not going to walk away, I feel very strongly that I must serve the people who voted me into office.’
He also said he was not going to set out a timetable to stand down as Prime Minister, as a number of MPs – and reportedly some Cabinet ministers – have urged him to do, particularly if Burnham wins the by-election. The PM said it was ‘obviously a very important’ vote and he would be backing whoever the candidate is – though he pointed out they were ‘not quite chosen yet’.
Simons formally resigned as an MP today, and a date is expected to be set for the election tomorrow. The candidate, widely expected but not guaranteed to be Burnham, is set to be announced on Thursday.
