Keir Starmer is defying mounting calls for him to quit, telling a meeting of his Cabinet that the country “expects us to get on with governing” and “that is what I am doing”.
The British prime minister’s woes deepened on Tuesday morning as the first minister resigned from his government urging him to go, and as the number of Labour MPs telling him to set out a timetable for his departure grew to 75.
According to Downing Street, Starmer told his Cabinet: “As I said yesterday, I take responsibility for these election results and I take responsibility for delivering the change we promised.
“The past 48 hours have been destabilising for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families.
“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered.
“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet.”
The meeting was expected to be fraught, with some ministers said to be joining calls for the prime minister to go.
Earlier, housing, communities and local government minister Miatta Fahnbulleh told the prime minister “to do the right thing for the country and the party and set a timetable for an orderly transition” as the public had lost trust in him because of issues such as the scrapping of the winter fuel payment.
Fahnbulleh is seen as a close ally of energy secretary Ed Miliband, who reportedly privately told Starmer to consider stepping down last week.
In a statement posted on X, Fahnbulleh said: “The message on the doorstep was clear: you, Prime Minister, have lost the trust and confidence of the public.
“Our country faces enormous challenges and people are crying out for the scale of change that this requires.
“The public does not believe that you can lead this change – and nor do I.
“Therefore, I urge you to do the right thing for the country and the Party and set a timetable for an orderly transition so that a new team can deliver the change we promised the country.”
This morning I sent my letter of resignation to the Prime Minister.
I urge the Prime Minister to do the right thing for the country and the Party and set a timetable for an orderly transition. pic.twitter.com/u5UArjv7uR
— Miatta Fahnbulleh (@Miatsf) May 12, 2026
And one of Starmer’s closest aides declined to say whether he would lead his party into the next general election.
Cabinet minister Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, said: “I’m not going to get ahead of any decision the PM may or may not take.”
In a speech on Monday meant to set out Labour’s response to last week’s disastrous local election results, Starmer said he would prove his doubters wrong as he vowed to carry on in office.
But the speech triggered an avalanche of Labour backbenchers publicly calling for Starmer to go, including a number of junior ministerial aides who resigned to do so.
We are a reasonable, tolerant, diverse, decent country.
That is the real Britain. The country I love and will fight for. pic.twitter.com/Eu95SDZWje
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 11, 2026
Downing Street announced the appointment of six new ministerial aides on Monday night to replace those who had resigned.
All eyes will be on whether Fahnbulleh’s departure prompts similar moves by ministerial colleagues, potentially triggering a wave of resignations similar to the exodus that led to Tory premier Boris Johnson’s downfall.
Senior ministers are split over how best to move forward, with home secretary Shabana Mahmood and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper reportedly among those to have told Starmer to consider his position.
But housing secretary Steve Reed warned against the chaos of a leadership change, writing on X: “This is not a game. This instability has consequences for people’s lives. The people who will be hurt most will be those that elected us less than two years ago. We must unite behind the Prime Minister.”
The cost of long-term government borrowing surged to a fresh 28-year high and the pound weakened on Tuesday morning amid the uncertainty about the prime minister’s future, although market moves eased slightly after Starmer said he intended to fight on.
Meanwhile, chancellor Rachel Reeves pulled out of an event she was due to speak at on Tuesday morning in the City of London.
Doubts about the prime minister’s future have sparked speculation about possible successors, with some looking to health escretary Wes Streeting while others are preferring a longer timetable to allow Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to return to Parliament and enter any contest.
