The Labour Contenders to Be Prime Minister If Starmer Resigns
Prime Minister Keir Starmer joins party supporters during a campaign event in London on May 5.
Photographer: Carl Court/Getty ImagesA rebellion in Britain’s ruling Labour Party put Keir Starmer on the brink of being forced from office, following a terrible performance in local elections. Labour lost around 1,500 council seats in England, with Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK enjoying widespread success across the country.
The fear of defeat to Farage at a general election convinced dozens of Labour members of Parliament to call for Starmer’s exit. The Prime Minister’s standing had already been hit in previous months by a string of costly policy U-turns, abysmal poll numbers and the disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US.