LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer battled to remain in his job, as four junior ministers resigned their posts on Tuesday and dozens of lawmakers called for him to step down in the wake of heavy defeats in local and regional elections.

The results capped a miserable few months for Starmer, who has been under pressure for failing to spur promised economic growth to help Britons suffering with the cost of living.

Criticism of policy U-turns has also been compounded by scandal over his appointment, then sacking, of Peter Mandelson, a former friend of US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as ambassador to Washington.

But on Tuesday, more than 100 Labour members of parliament signed a statement backing their leader, highlighting the deep divisions within the beleaguered ruling party.

Over 100 Labour MPs sign statement arguing ‘this is no time for a leadership contest’

Several senior ministers also rallied around him after he told them in a crunch meeting that he was getting on with governing the country and dared any leadership hopefuls to challenge him.

“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered,” Starmer told ministers.

More than 80 of Labour’s 403 members of parliament have now called for Starmer to quit immediately or to set out a timetable for his departure.

Meanwhile, the Times reported on Tuesday that energy minister Ed Miliband has told his cabinet colleagues he was prepared to run for the Labour Party leadership if health minister Wes Streeting moved to trigger an imminent contest. But Miliband later denied he was planning a leadership bid.

‘Orderly transition’

Miatta Fahnbulleh became the first junior minister to resign, calling on Starmer “to do the right thing for the country and the party and set a timetable for an orderly transition”.

Jess Phillips then quit as safeguarding minister, telling Starmer in a letter that she was not seeing the change “I, and the country expect”. Junior ministers Alex Davies-Jones and Zubir Ahmed followed.

But deputy prime minister David Lammy told the BBC that Starmer has his “full support”, adding that “no one seems to have the names to stand” against him.

Defence Secretary John Healey also backed the prime minister, warning that “more instability is not in Britain’s interest”, while a spokesman for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she would not be resigning.

More than 100 Labour MPs signed a statement arguing that “this is no time for a leadership contest”, adding that the job of winning back the trust of the electorate “needs to start today, with all of us working together to deliver the change the country needs”.

Under party rules, any challenger would need the support of 81 Labour MPs — 20 per cent of the party in parliament — to trigger a leadership contest.

A contest would likely spark damaging infighting, with MPs from the left and right of the party battling to position their preferred candidate or shore up Starmer.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2026