Keir Starmer’s position is looking more and more untenable, yet he is still refusing to resign as prime minister after last week’s disastrous local election results.
Safeguarding Minister—and big Labour name—Jess Phillips resigned from the government on Tuesday afternoon after Starmer said he would not be going. She said the PM was “a good man fundamentally,” but that was “not enough.”
Phillips is the most senior member of the PM’s team to go so far. Others are likely to follow.
Close to 100 Labour MPs have also now publicly called for Starmer to resign. The cry from Starmer’s allies that “more instability is not in Britain’s interest” appears to be failing to garner much—if any—traction.
Starmer’s position is not at all helped by the continued rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. The party secured its largest ever polling lead with YouGov on Tuesday, despite YouGov traditionally giving it lower numbers than most other pollsters. This was their first survey since last week’s local elections, which saw Labour perform horrifically.
Responding to Starmer’s weakening grip on power, former Labour MP and now Reform member Simon Danczuk, mocked the PM as “delusional,” adding:
It’s highly embarrassing for him and it won’t end well. Please someone explain to him it’s over.
Reports claim Starmer refused to discuss his leadership in a meeting with his cabinet on Tuesday morning, saying he would only talk about the issue with ministers individually—but that he has since refused to meet with them.
Some of these figures are understood to be manoeuvring for a shot at the top job themselves.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
