British PM Starmer, weakened by local elections, faces leadership challenge from former minister

LONDON - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, reeling from a crushing local election defeat, faced a new setback to his leadership on May 9 when a former minister said she would challenge him for the top job if no one else stepped forward.

Mr Starmer’s Labour Party recorded the worst losses of a governing party in municipal polls since 1995, prompting a growing number of his own lawmakers to call on him to quit.

To try to shore up his position in the party earlier on May 9, he named two influential Labour grandees as advisers, former prime minister Gordon Brown and former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman.

But just hours later, Labour lawmaker Catherine West, a former minister, told BBC Radio that she wanted the Cabinet to work out a plan to replace Mr Starmer by May 11, or she would challenge him for the position herself.

“If... there are no leadership hopefuls who come forward tomorrow, then Monday morning I will put my name forward to stand for the leader of the Labour Party,” she said.

Challenge not straightforward

As the extent of the defeat emerged, more than 20 lawmakers publicly and privately called on Mr Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure.

Asked whether he would stand down, he told British media that was not the right thing to do.

“I’m not going to walk away from this,” he said earlier on May 9.

A number of Cabinet ministers said on May 8 that they continued to support Mr Starmer, who just under two years ago led Labour to a landslide national election victory, and an immediate challenge from the potential leadership rivals does not look straightforward.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham does not have the seat in Parliament he needs to mount a challenge, and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has yet to fully resolve the tax issues that prompted her resignation from office in 2025.

Mr Wes Streeting, currently health minister, is, like Mr Starmer, tainted by the appointment of Mr Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States.

Mr Streeting was close to Mr Mandelson, who was sacked over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Any candidate wishing to make a challenge would need to secure the public support of 20 per cent of Labour members of Parliament. With Labour currently holding 403 seats, that equates to 81 backers.

Ms West said she had 10 names behind her so far but her preferred option was that another candidate put themselves forward.

“I think there are several people who would like to do it who have been planning for months,” she said.

Calling in the old guard

Aiming to reset his leadership and win back party support, Mr Starmer’s office announced that Mr Brown, 75, and Ms Harman, also 75, would join his team.

“They’re vital to how we strengthen our country and take it forward and provide the opportunities that give people that hope for a better future,” he said, when asked whether figures from the past could help with his plan for the future to improve people’s lives.

Mr Brown will seek to drive new defence and security investment and hone relations with the European Union, to try to boost economic performance and win back votes, while Ms Harman will focus on tackling misogyny and violence against women and girls, creating economic opportunities. REUTERS