London, Jun 21 (PTI) Keir Starmer has come under mounting pressure to resign as the leader of the Labour Party to pave the way for Andy Burnham to take over as the new British Prime Minister. Burnham’s decisive victory against a looming far-right threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the Makerfield byelection in northern England earlier this week strengthened his claim to the top job.
While Starmer has been steadfast in his commitment to contest any leadership challenge, the growing voices of dissent from within his own cabinet have triggered speculation around his exit from 10 Downing Street as early as next week. “I was elected with a considerable mandate to serve the country at a general election two years ago,” Starmer told reporters on Saturday. “There isn’t a leadership contest at the moment, but as I have said on many, many occasions, I don’t think that’s a good thing for the country to plunge us into chaos,” he said.
“I would also add that now that Andy (Burnham) has won (in Makerfield), which is really good because he is a huge asset to us… It is important that we pull together,” he added. Starmer also said that if there is a contest he will face, he will stand and will not walk away.
However, this defiance is said to be chipping away behind the scenes as Burnham pushes ahead with cobbling together what his own Cabinet would look like. According to ‘The Guardian’, the tally of Labour MPs supporting him as the new leader is edging closer to 300.
“As well as working really hard over this weekend, I think he is making time to reflect on the political realities, challenges and opportunities that he finds himself in,” Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle told reporters on Sunday, when asked about Starmer’s plans. A series of different scenarios could play out in the coming days and weeks. If Starmer does decide to resign, he may offer to stay in his post as PM during a transition period before handing over to a successor as the party leader and new Prime Minister. An alternative situation could see Starmer choosing to resign with immediate effect, with a member of the Cabinet replacing him in a caretaker capacity until the election process for a new leader is completed. Potential leadership challengers, also expected to include former health secretary Wes Streeting, would need support from at least 20 per cent of the party’s MPs. They must also have the backing of either 5 per cent of the constituency Labour parties, or at least three affiliated Labour Party organisations or trade unions. Starmer’s departure from Downing Street would mean the UK would be on the hunt for its seventh prime minister in 10 years, following rapid leadership changes during the previous Conservative government.
The latest instability follows Starmer’s landslide victory in the July 2024 general election with an emphatic majority of 174.
However, in recent months, his premiership has been plagued by controversies, including the appointment of former Labour grandee Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite known links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Some domestic decisions and U-turns around taxes and social benefits have also cast a long shadow over his tenure.
Burnham, meanwhile, a former Cabinet minister who went on to make his mark as the mayor of Greater Manchester, will return to the Parliament benches on Monday after declaring that his byelection win was Labour’s “last chance to change” and pledged to “lay out a new path for Britain”. He also called for an end to “trickle-down economics”, which he said, “didn’t trickle down very much at all”.
“We do need to bring down water bills, energy bills, rail fares, just as we’ve brought down bus fares in Greater Manchester to make life more affordable for people,” he said. PTI AK SKS
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