Keir Starmer Defies Labour Calls To Resign After More Than 80 MPs Demand Departure

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet he has no intention of resigning as calls within the Labour Party for him to step down or set a timetable for departure grew after last week’s local election losses.

“01:46\n10:02\n04:23\n00:57\n02:19\n23:17\n05:09\n20 Minutes with AFP\nPublished on 12/05/2026 at 03:35 • Updated on 12/05/2026 at 03:35\nIn the United Kingdom, things are not going well for Keir Starmer”

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Starmer said, “The country expects us to get on with governing,” and added that “The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families.”

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The pressure was driven by more than 80 Labour lawmakers publicly calling for him to resign or set a timetable, and by the fact that under Labour party rules 81 lawmakers are needed to formally trigger a leadership contest.

In the same period, three ministers resigned from government, including junior minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, who urged Starmer “to do the right thing for the country” and set a timetable for his departure.

The political crisis was also framed against the backdrop of Britain’s wider security debate, with the UK Cabinet Office readout of a senior ministers meeting containing no mention of the Starmer leadership turmoil and instead focusing on contingency planning around the Middle East conflict.

As Starmer met with his cabinet, the BBC reported that the total number of Labour MPs calling for him to resign or set out a timetable had reached 86, with the latest being MP Andrew Cooper, who said it was “important for the Prime Minister to set out a clear and considered timetable for his departure.”

Al Jazeera reported that Starmer told his cabinet the process for challenging the leader had not been triggered, and it quoted him saying, “The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do,”.

Al Jazeera

The resignations that followed included Jess Phillips, who stepped down and said she was “not seeing the change I think I, and the country expect,” and Alex Davies-Jones, who resigned after calling electoral defeats “catastrophic.”

Supporters inside government publicly rallied around Starmer after the meeting, with Pat McFadden saying “no one challenged” the prime minister and with Peter Kyle saying “We’re working hard on the big issues that are facing the country, and Keir is showing steadfast leadership.”

At the same time, the Guardian described cabinet anger over what it called Wes Streeting’s attempts to destabilise the prime minister, quoting one minister saying “Wes has got a brass neck,” and another adding “There were evil looks in his direction.”

The next step in the leadership fight hinges on Labour’s internal threshold, with multiple outlets citing that a leadership contest requires the endorsement of 81 Labour MPs, or 20 percent of the party in the House of Commons.

Reuters reported that Starmer resisted pressure to resign as the revolt grew, while the Guardian said Starmer told his cabinet he would fight on because “the threshold for a leadership challenge has not been met.”

The political uncertainty also spilled into financial markets, with Al Jazeera reporting that the pound dropped 0.7 percent against the dollar to $1.351 and that long-term borrowing costs surged, including a 30-year bond yield reaching 5.797 percent, the highest level since 1998.

In the same reporting, Al Jazeera said the 10-year rate hit 5.116 percent, and it quoted Kathleen Brooks of broker XTB saying, “The bond market is reacting not only to Starmer’s potential departure but also to who his successor could be.”

With Wednesday’s State Opening of Parliament approaching, the BBC said the King Charles III ceremony would see the government’s legislative agenda set out, while the Guardian said Starmer convened the cabinet as at least 10 more MPs called on him to set a timetable to depart, taking the total to more than 80.