At least 81 members of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party have called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to either resign or set a timetable for his departure, marking the most significant internal challenge to his leadership so far.
The group reportedly includes senior figures such as Shabana Mahmood. The number represents about 20 percent of Labour’s 403 Members of Parliament (MPs), the threshold required to trigger a formal leadership contest within the party.
Despite mounting pressure, Starmer has remained defiant.
“The past 48 hours have been destabilising for government, and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families,” he told cabinet members on Monday.
“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader, and that has not been triggered.
“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet,” he added.
Pressure on the prime minister intensified following Labour’s poor performance in recent local elections, where the party lost hundreds of councillor seats to the right-wing Reform UK and the left-leaning Green Party of England and Wales.
Labour also suffered setbacks in devolved regions, losing its long-standing dominance in Wales and being decisively defeated by the Scottish National Party in the Scottish Parliament.
The developments add to a difficult period for Starmer, who has faced criticism over his handling of key appointments, including the controversial selection and subsequent dismissal of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States.
The prime minister has also come under fire for failing to revive the economy amid a persistent cost-of-living crisis affecting many British households.
Meanwhile, senior Labour figures such as Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner are being widely viewed by party members as potential successors should a leadership contest be triggered.
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