KEIR Starmer has brought Gordon Brown back for a top job as calls grow for the under-fire Prime Minister to quit.
Brown, 75, has been appointed as his Special Envoy on Global Finance – more than 16 years since he was ousted from No10 in a landslide General Election defeat in 2010.
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Sir Keir Starmer has brought Gordon Brown back for a top job as he faces calls to quit Credit: Crown Copyright
The Prime Minister also appointed Harriet Harman as he scrambles to shore up his position Credit: Crown Copyright
Nigel Farage mocked Brown’s appointment and said ‘Labour are doomed’ Credit: Reuters
The move prompted Nigel Farage to mock the appointment on social media saying “Labour are doomed”.
“An unpopular Prime Minister who lost a general election is now seen by Starmer as being the saviour,” he jibed.
It comes as Harriet Harman has also been appointed as the UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls, with Starmer desperately scrambling to shore up his position.
The Prime Minster says he will “set out the path ahead” – as he seeks to reset his premiership, amid growing pressure from his own MPs to quit.
TREVOR KAVANAGH
Labour have lost confidence of British people and if PM goes so must they
FIGHTING TALK
PM won’t be in No10 for long – Reform will win general election, vows Farage
The Reform leader is jubilant after the party made sweeping gains in the local elections Credit: Getty
Sir Keir Starmer alongside Gordon Brown and Rachel Reeves Credit: Crown Copyright
Labour also suffered crushing defeats in Wales and Scotland Credit: Getty
It follows Labour losing more than 1,400 seats as well as control of both the Senedd in Wales and 37 councils across England in the local elections as Reform made sweeping gains.
Speaking to broadcasters in south London on Saturday, the PM said that while the results were “really tough” and he’s “not going to sugar-coat that”, he is “not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos”.
“I think the right thing to do is to rebuild and show the path forward,” he insisted.
He added: “It’s really important that we reflect and respond when the electorate sends a message like that, it’s right that we do that.
“I think we have to set out the path ahead. And that’s what I intend to do in coming days. How we rebuild, how we convince people about hope for the future. And we haven’t done enough of that.
“So I will be setting that out with clarity about my convictions and my values – what drives me forward on this.”
Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy meeting Labour Party members in South London on Saturday Credit: PA
Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she was ‘very proud’ of the results Credit: EPA
Zack Polanski celebrates with Zoe Garbett, who was elected mayor of Hackney Credit: Reuters
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey celebrates with supporters following the party’s win in Portsmouth Credit: Getty
He added that his government did “make a number of really important calls in the last couple of years”, touching on his handling of the economy, public services and the Iran war.
He added: “Of course, we face difficult circumstances…. but my job is to combine rising to those challenges with the hope and opportunity that gives people that real sense that things can get better and will.”
But the double strategic move to appoint Brown and Harmen has not gone down well with everyone inside Labour.
One MP told The Jattvibe: “It just shows how little respect Keir has for his Parliamentary party that he feels like he has to give roles to politicians from 20 years ago rather than them.”
The party has lost more key battlegrounds, including hundreds of councillors in England while also suffering severe defeats in Wales and Scotland, with the Welsh stronghold it has dominated for 100 years falling to Plaid Cymru and Reform.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the party is “hurting” after the Labour “didn’t win the argument” in the Holyrood election.
More than 20 of the Prime Minister’s backbenchers are breaking ranks on his time in Downing Street and have called for him to stand down or set a timetable for his departure – as the party lost one former Labour stronghold after another.
Losses included Wandsworth and Westminster in London along with Blackburn and Darwen, Jattvibederland, Preston and Cambridge.
None of Starmer’s leadership rivals, including Rayner, are expected to wield the knife in the coming days Credit: Getty
Greater Manchester Mayor Mr Burnham is currently unable to run in any leadership contest as he needs to be an MP Credit: Getty
The party even lost control of Birmingham City Council which had been under Labour control for 14 years.
But Sir Keir has vowed to fight on and despite the catastrophic defeat, none of his leadership rivals are expected to wield the knife in the coming days.
Frontrunners Angela Rayner, Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting had yesterday gone to ground without giving him their backing.
However, Labour plotters have given PM Sir Keir Starmer an ultimatum to become more left-wing — or face certain mutiny.
He is expected to try to head off a leadership coup by watering down Brexit as part of yet another Government “reset”.
The PM refused to bow to demands to resign and instead declared: “I’m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos.”
His former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, who leads the party’s soft-left caucus, became the most senior MP to tell him to change course or risk a challenge.
She said: “I think what is abundantly clear is that unless the Government delivers significant and urgent change, then the Prime Minister cannot lead us into another election.”
Labour-backing unions also demanded an urgent meeting with Sir Keir after the “disastrous” results and demand a shift to the Left.
Based on the full results from 129 of the 136 councils in England that held elections on Thursday, Labour won 47% of the seats it was defending while the Conservatives won 63%, according to Press Association analysis.
These figures are a comparison with seats the parties held just before the elections took place.
Using the same calculation, at last year’s local elections in England both Labour and the Tories won 33% of the seats they were defending.
Reform UK has won 31% of the seats in which it stood candidates this year, while the Greens have won 12%.
Last year Reform won 42% of the seats it contested and the Greens won 7%.
In Scotland, both Labour and Conservatives have seen their lowest number of members elected to the Scottish Parliament.
The Prime Minister has plunged to historically unpopular levels after 21 months of U-turns, sleaze scandals and policy disasters. Sir Keir said he will set out a plan “in the coming days” to “deliver the change” voters want.
He will try to use Wednesday’s King’s Speech to get on the front foot with a jam-packed legislative agenda that appeases party rebels.
Within weeks he will be forced to publish tens of thousands of texts between Peter Mandelson and senior officials that could upend his premiership.
