Starmer pledges to bring Britain closer to the EU as he fights calls for
his ouster
[May 11, 2026]
By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged Monday to prove the
“doubters” in his own party and among the electorate as a whole wrong as
he tries to fight off demands to step down after devastating local
election results for his Labour Party.
Starmer argued that he will “face up to the big challenges” and restore
“hope” to the country. That includes getting closer to the European
Union and “putting Britain at the heart of Europe,” a decade after the
U.K. voted to leave the EU.
“I know I have my doubters and I know I need to prove them wrong, and I
will," Starmer said during a speech in London. He vowed to prove to
millions of people “tired of a status quo that has failed them” that the
government is on their side.
He said Labour is in “a battle for the soul of our nation,” and the U.K.
will go down “a dark path” if Reform UK, the anti-immigration party led
by Nigel Farage, comes to power.
But Starmer's position is fragile, with dozens of lawmakers calling for
him to announce a date for his departure.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, a powerful lawmaker often
seen as a potential challenger, said “what we are doing isn’t working,
and it needs to change."
Rayner did not explicitly call for Starmer to quit, but accused him of
presiding over “a toxic culture of cronyism" and said the government
must “stay true to labor and social democratic values” and ease the cost
of living for working people.
“This may be our last chance,” Rayner said in a statement on Sunday.
Labour has been plunged into gloom by heavy losses last week in local
elections across England and legislative votes in Scotland and Wales.
The elections have been interpreted as an unofficial referendum on
Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he swept to power in a
landslide less than two years ago.
His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair
tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung
by repeated missteps and policy U-turns on issues including welfare
reform. He has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint
Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as
Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
Last week’s elections saw Labour squeezed from both right and left,
losing votes to both Reform UK and the “eco-populist” Green Party. It
reflects the increasing fragmentation of British politics, long
dominated by Labour and the Conservatives.
Starmer hopes to regain momentum with Monday’s speech and an ambitious
set of legislative plans to be set out in a speech Wednesday by King
Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.
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Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party
members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London,
Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Stefan
Rousseau/PA via AP)
He told an audience of party lawmakers and activists in his speech
that the government will take control of Britain's energy, economic
and defense security and make the country fairer.
A key policy is closer ties with the EU, which the United Kingdom
left in 2020, four years after the “leave” side narrowly won a
membership referendum. Starmer’s government has already moved to
ease some of the trade restrictions that have burdened British
businesses since Brexit, and he says he will secure a youth mobility
deal so young people can spend a few years working across the
continent.
Starmer said the government would be “defined by rebuilding our
relationship with Europe.”
Labour campaigned to stay in the EU during the 2016 referendum
campaign, but has been reluctant to reopen a debate that bitterly
divided the country. Starmer has ruled out seeking to reenter the
EU, or to rejoin the bloc's customs union or single market, things
that would make a big difference to British businesses.
Rivals weigh making a move
None of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential
challengers to Starmer — including Rayner, Health Secretary Wes
Streeting and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham — has yet called
for him to resign.
But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to
set a timetable for his departure. British politics allows parties
to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.
Josh Simons, a formerly loyal Labour lawmaker, wrote in the Times of
London that Starmer “has lost the country” and “should take control
of the situation by overseeing an orderly transition to a new prime
minister.”
Catherine West, a former junior minister, says she will try to
trigger a leadership contest unless Starmer delivers a barnstorming
speech on Monday. West acknowledged she does not have the support of
81 colleagues, needed to force a contest, and her move appeared to
be an attempt to force more high-profile contenders to make a move.
“Working people sent us a message,” West said. “We have to listen to
that, and we have to change and we have to do it quickly.”
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