Senior members of the British government, including Shabana Mahmood and David Lammy, have reportedly urged British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to consider outlining a timeline for stepping down, according to a report published by The Times on Monday.
The reported pressure comes after Labour suffered significant losses in recent local and regional elections, with support shifting toward Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, the Green Party of England and Wales, and Plaid Cymru.
According to the report, more than 60 Labour MPs have privately called on Starmer to resign, expressing dissatisfaction with his leadership and concerns over the government’s inability to deliver rapid political and economic change.
The dissent reportedly includes four parliamentary aides who resigned from their positions following the election setbacks.
Among them was Joe Morris, parliamentary private secretary to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who stated on social media that Starmer no longer had the public’s trust to lead the country’s promised reforms.
Another departing aide, Tom Rutland, who worked with Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, argued that Starmer had lost authority among Labour lawmakers and would struggle to regain it.
Melanie Ward, an aide to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, also supported calls for a leadership change, saying the election results showed the public had lost confidence in the prime minister.
Similarly, Cabinet Office aide Naushabah Khan announced her resignation and called for new leadership to rebuild public trust.
Under Labour Party rules, a formal leadership challenge would require support from at least 81 MPs, equivalent to 20% of Labour’s parliamentary members.
Despite the growing criticism, Starmer vowed to remain in office and insisted he would prove his critics wrong. In a major speech on Monday, he acknowledged public frustration with politics, economic conditions, and his leadership, but promised stronger action on economic growth, energy policy, and relations with Europe.
Starmer also pledged to fully nationalise British Steel and argued that Brexit had weakened Britain economically and politically.
He strongly criticised Nigel Farage, describing the Reform UK leader as a political opportunist whose Brexit campaign had misled the country.
“If we don’t get this right, our country will go down a very dark path,” Starmer warned during the speech.
Following his remarks, Labour MP Catherine West said she was gathering support among MPs for a proposal that would encourage Starmer to announce a timetable for selecting a new Labour leader in September.
Starmer also warned party members against repeating the instability that marked recent Conservative governments, which saw five prime ministers take office since 2010.
Potential successors frequently mentioned within Labour include Health Secretary Wes Streeting and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, although neither is believed to command broad support across the party.
Rayner, while not openly calling for Starmer’s resignation, acknowledged concerns over the government’s direction, saying: “What we are doing isn’t working, and it needs to change.”