PM Sir Keir Starmer will today meet wannabe leader Wes Streeting for showdown talks after refusing to quit yesterday despite a mounting mutiny.
His premiership was rocked further as four ministers resigned and more than 90 Labour MPs demanded he stand down.
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Keir and Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, left, with construction apprentices in South London while MPs continued to plot against the PM Credit: Getty
Keir Starmer will today meet leadership wannabe Wes Streeting for showdown talks after refusing to quit despite a mounting mutiny Credit: PA
Among the rebels were allies of Health Secretary Streeting who is understood to be plotting a coup but is “waiting for someone else to make the first move”.
He asked to see the PM after a Cabinet meeting yesterday but was rebuffed and will instead meet him face-to-face in No 10 this morning.
Ambitious Mr Streeting is expected to ask Sir Keir how he plans to turn around his government following a drubbing in last week’s local elections.
It came as safeguarding minister Jess Phillips quit with a blistering parting shot, accusing the PM of making “catastrophic mistakes”.
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She said he had failed to take serious action on tackling violence against women and girls.
Sir Keir was last night holed up at 10 Downing Street and is refusing to go quietly after daring his leadership rivals to launch a challenge — or get into line.
His allies were defiant last night and believed that both Mr Streeting and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham had bottled challenging him for the crown.
And in a sign that Labour has descended into all-out civil war, more than 100 MPs signed a statement declaring their support for beleaguered Sir Keir.
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips quit with a blistering parting shot, accusing the PM of making ‘catastrophic mistakes’ Credit: PA
Housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh walked out demanding an ‘orderly transition’ away from Sir Keir’s leadership Credit: PA
The PM had told his Cabinet that he was digging-in during a “surreal” meeting earlier in the day where he largely ignored the impending crisis and focused on the war in Iran.
In a further show of stoic defiance, Sir Keir was later joined by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden as they met construction apprentices in South London while MPs continued to plot against him.
The ongoing turmoil is likely to overshadow the pomp and pageantry today as King Charles comes to Parliament to lay out the PM’s agenda for the next year.
After being thrashed in the local elections, a steady stream of Labour MPs want him instead to outline a timetable for his departure.
Yet neither Mr Streeting nor Angela Rayner — or Mr Burnham, who is not an MP — have launched a challenge against him yet.
No Cabinet Minister has resigned either, with wobbly Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood yesterday ruling out quitting.
The biggest blow to Sir Keir yesterday came when Ms Phillips quit with a scathing attack on his leadership and handling of violence against women policies.
She warned that Labour was failing to deliver the promised change voters had expected on protecting women and girls and said she could no longer serve “under the current leadership”.
Alex Davies-Jones is another minister who resigned, rocking Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership further Credit: PA
Junior health minister Zubir Ahmed also quit, saying he did not believe the PM could survive Credit: PA
In a stinging resignation letter, she accused Sir Keir of lacking the “fight and drive” needed to force through reform and complained key policies had been repeatedly “stalled and delayed”.
She also claimed Downing Street only “kicked into gear” on policies over violence against women when the Peter Mandelson row threatened Labour and ministers needed to “prove our credentials”.
The crisis deepened further when Alex Davies-Jones became the third minister to resign within hours.
The victims minister urged Sir Keir to “set out a timetable for your departure” after Labour’s election losses across the UK — the party haemorrhaged 1,498 council seats — which she described as “catastrophic”.
4 WAYS STARMER COULD GO
THE MP COUP: Labour MPs would need 81 backers to trigger a leadership contest against Sir Keir Starmer
THE CABINET MUTINY: A wave of ministerial resignations could make the Govt impossible to run and pile huge pressure on the PM
THE MEN IN GREY SUITS: Senior Labour figures, Cabinet allies and union bosses could privately tell Sir Keir his position is hopeless
FALLING ON HIS SWORD: Sir Keir could decide the political damage to Labour is too great and quit voluntarily
Sir Keir is holed up at 10 Downing Street and is refusing to go quietly after daring his leadership rivals to launch a challenge or get into line Credit: Reuters
Housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh had already walked out earlier yesterday demanding an “orderly transition” away from Sir Keir’s leadership.
She said the PM had “lost the trust and confidence of voters” and later publicly backed Mr Burnham to replace him, demanding the Manchester mayor be allowed back into Parliament.
Last night, junior health minister Zubir Ahmed became the fourth minister to quit, saying he did not believe the PM could survive.
But while Labour’s rival camps manoeuvred behind the scenes, Sir Keir’s allies attempted to mount a counter-attack.
Some 112 party MPs and ministerial aides signed a letter insisting “this is no time for a leadership contest” and warning against plunging the Government into further chaos. In a letter, they added: “That job needs to start today — with all of us working together to deliver the change the country needs. We must focus on that.”
Cabinet loyalists were also deployed outside Downing Street in an unusually frantic public show of support.
Defence Secretary John Healey insisted more instability was “not in Britain’s interest”.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall, Mr McFadden and Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle all publicly backed the PM.
Deputy PM David Lammy said: “He has my full support.”
Yet the public show of unity only highlighted the extraordinary splits now tearing through the Cabinet.
Mr Streeting, widely seen by MPs as the frontrunner if Sir Keir falls, had walked silently out of Downing Street after Cabinet, ignoring shouted questions from reporters about the PM’s future.
His refusal to publicly back Sir Keir intensified speculation around manoeuvring inside his camp.
But allies insist the Health Secretary does not want to be seen as the man directly wielding the knife against a sitting Labour Prime Minister.
One Labour MP said: “Everybody is waiting for someone else to make the first move.”
Sir Keir will today aim to pick himself up via the King’s Speech, with a specific focus on energy security.
He said last night: “The British people expect the Government to get on with the job of changing our country for the better.”
