British Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks on during King’s Speech Debate at the House of Commons in London, Britain, May 13, 2026. Photo: Reuters
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is under intense pressure to quit from within his Labour Party after a set of poor local election results, will not set out a timetable for his departure, his deputy David Lammy said on Monday.
The heavy losses for Labour in the May 7 elections triggered almost a quarter of its lawmakers to call for him to go, and two rivals are openly vying to replace him, unsettling investors who have pushed up the government’s borrowing costs.
“There will be no timetable for departure,” Lammy told Sky News, adding that he had spoken to the prime minister twice on Sunday.
Lawmaker Wes Streeting, who quit as health minister last week, said on Saturday he would stand in any formal leadership contest. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is seeking a seat in parliament that would allow him to make a challenge, too.
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Starmer has repeatedly said that he intends to fight any leadership challenge. A contest would begin if one lawmaker submits 81 nominations to the party, equivalent to 20% of the elected Labour Party members of parliament.
Starmer came under renewed pressure last week when three ministerial aides stepped down, and more than 60 Labour lawmakers publicly called for his resignation after his appeal for another chance seemingly fell on deaf ears.
At an address to the party faithful in London, Starmer had made an impassioned plea to both his party and voters to stick with him and avoid a leadership contest, he said would only bring chaos, promising to be bolder.
But his speech, in which he all but admitted he had been too timid in tackling the myriad of problems besetting Britain since he won a large majority in 2024, did little to ease the anger felt over one of the worst defeats for Labour in last week’s local elections.
