Keir Starmer faces calls to resign after Makerfield by-election

PM under pressure from Labour MPs and ministers to set timetable for exit



Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls to set a timetable for his departure from Downing Street after Andy Burnham won a resounding victory in the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge.

A growing number of Labour MPs are urging Sir Keir to announce plans to hand power to the former Greater Manchester mayor, without the need for a potentially messy leadership contest.

But the prime minister has insisted he will fight any challenge and will not "walk away" from the job.

Burnham's allies have urged Sir Keir to reflect over the weekend and listen to his cabinet ministers, MPs and family.

The former mayor's team - and that of another potential challenger Wes Streeting - have said they will not be giving any media interviews over the weekend, in an apparent bid to give the prime minister time to change his mind.

The prime minister spent some of Friday phoning other cabinet ministers to gauge the level of support he has among his top team.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander suggested he set out a timetable to leave office, the BBC has been told.

A spokesperson for Alexander said: "Heidi and the PM spoke this afternoon as part of wider cabinet calls. It was a private conversation and I am not going to reveal what was said."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves also spoke to the prime minister in the hours after the Makerfield result was announced and offered him her full support.

Last month, following Labour's poor performance in elections, some ministers, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, urged Sir Keir to set a timetable for his resignation.

It's understood that Mahmood and Sir Keir have not spoken since Burnham's by-election victory.

A crunch moment for the prime minister could come next Tuesday, when all his senior ministers will gather for the weekly cabinet meeting.

Asked if he would now set a timetable for his departure, Sir Keir told the BBC: "I was elected to serve my country with a mandate that we secured at a general election two years ago."

He said he had achieved economic stability and got immigration "back under control" and there was more he wanted to do.

But he added: "if there is a contest, yes I will run. I will stand and I have said repeatedly I am not going to walk away from that."

In a lunchtime call, Sir Keir told Labour staff members that the party should "pull together".

"The one thing we've got to avoid doing is plunging our party and our country into chaos by turning on each other and tearing apart our party and our movement.

"That has never worked. That's what the last government did. We need to learn that lesson."

He has previously said that the party should now focus on winning the Greater Manchester mayoralty, which is vacant following Burnham's by-election win. The contest will take place on 30 July.

Burnham will be formally sworn in as an MP in Parliament on Monday.