UK's Starmer defiant as calls for his resignation grow and several
ministers quit
[May 13, 2026]
By BRIAN MELLEY and PAN PYLAS
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Tuesday that he
has no intention of resigning as calls grew louder within his Labour
Party for him to step down and some junior members of his government
quit in protest.
A day before the state opening of Parliament when the government will
present its legislative program for the coming year, Starmer tried to
shore up support within his Cabinet.
Starmer's future has become a hot topic over the past few feverish days
following historic losses for the Labour Party in local elections last
week, which if repeated in a national election that has to be held by
2029, would see it overwhelmingly ejected from power.
Though no Cabinet member has quit or publicly stated the prime minister
should step aside for a change in leader, there's growing speculation
that the ambitious health secretary, Wes Streeting, will inform Starmer
that his days are numbered when they meet on Wednesday.
Streeting has many supporters within the parliamentary party, including
some of those who resigned from Starmer's government on Tuesday, which
stoked speculation that Starmer could suffer the fate of Boris Johnson
in 2022 when dozens of ministers quit en masse and forced his departure.
While more than 100 members of Parliament signed a letter saying it was
"no time for a leadership contest,” about 90 others said Starmer should
stand down or at least set out a timetable for his departure.
That's not enough to trigger a leadership contest, though, as no
candidate has issued a challenge to the prime minister. Under Labour
party rules, a fifth of its lawmakers in the House of Commons, or 81
members, must publicly give their backing to a single candidate for a
leadership election to take place.
First resignations
On Tuesday, several junior ministers, some of whom were elected for the
first time in Labour's landslide election victory in July 2024, resigned
and urged Starmer to do the same.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister of housing, communities and local
government, was the first to quit, urging Starmer “to do the right thing
for the country.”
She was followed by Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister and a
prominent member of the Labour Party. In her resignation letter, she
described Starmer as a “good man fundamentally” but unable to make bold
changes.
“I know you care deeply, but deeds, not words are what matter,” Phillips
said. “I’m not sure we are grasping this rare opportunity with the gusto
that’s needed and I cannot keep waiting around for a crisis to push for
faster progress.”
Despite the party's dominant win driving out the Conservatives after 14
years in power, Labour’s popularity has plunged and Starmer is getting
much of the blame.
The reasons include a series of policy missteps, a perceived lack of
vision on the prime minister's part, a struggling British economy and
questions over his judgment. Starmer's choice of Peter Mandelson as U.K.
ambassador to Washington despite ties to the convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein has continued to haunt him.
Starmer defiant
At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said he
took responsibility for the losses in last week’s elections but would
fight on.
Labour was squeezed from the right and the left, losing votes to both
anti-immigrant Reform UK and the Green Party, as well as nationalist
parties in Scotland and Wales. The result reflects the increasing
fragmentation of U.K. politics, long dominated by Labour and the
Conservatives.
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British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after
meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in
south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)
Starmer told his Cabinet that there’s a process to oust a leader and
it hadn't been triggered.
“The country expects us to get on with governing,” Starmer said.
“The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government and that
has a real economic cost for our country and for families.”
That cost was evident in financial markets on Tuesday, with the
interest rate charged on British government bonds up by more than
those of comparable nations. That shows investors think it's
increasingly risky to hold British government debt.
Embattled PM wins support
As Cabinet members left 10 Downing Street, some voiced their support
for the embattled prime minister.
Works and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said nobody publicly
challenged Starmer at the meeting, while Business Secretary Peter
Kyle said the prime minister was showing “really steadfast
leadership.”
Later, Starmer's deputy David Lammy warned Labour lawmakers that the
only beneficiary of the party's “navel-gazing” is the populist right
and the leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, in particular.
“He has my full support, and what I say to colleagues is, look,
let’s just step back," he said. “Take a breath.”
Potential candidates
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, long believed to be preparing for a
leadership challenge against Starmer, was among senior ministers who
dodged a barrage of shouted questions from a gaggle of reporters
outside.
“Wes Streeting, do you want the job, or not?” a man yelled from
across the street. “Are you measuring the curtains?”
Streeting is expected to meet Starmer early on Wednesday, before
King Charles III outlines the government's program, to discuss the
future.
The other two names often touted as possible successors are Angela
Rayner, the former deputy prime minister who had to quit last year
over an unpaid tax bill. She has long set herself apart as a
different kind of politician with a compelling personal story,
brought up in social housing and leaving school at 16 as a teen
mother.
Andy Burnham, the popular mayor of Greater Manchester, is widely
perceived to be one of the strongest candidates but is not currently
eligible because he’s not in Parliament. To get in the race, he'll
have to find a seat where he can be elected.
That may involve a close ally of Burnham's in the northwest of
England vacating their seat for him to stand for election. However,
he may be blocked as was the case earlier this year or could even
lose, if last week's results are any guide.
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Danica Kirka and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.
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