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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer may soon face a leadership challenge following significant setbacks in last Thursday’s local elections. The Labour Party’s performance has prompted speculation about potential changes at the top.
Labour MP Catherine West has announced to the BBC her intention to initiate a leadership contest if no Cabinet minister steps forward to challenge Starmer by Monday.
In a bold statement, West declared she was alerting the Cabinet to the possibility of a challenge.
“I’m issuing a warning—if no one steps up by Monday morning to challenge for leadership, I will urge every member of the Parliamentary Labour Party to back me in getting the process underway,” she stated in her conversation with the broadcaster.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is seen here delivering an update on the Middle East situation during a press briefing at Downing Street in London on March 5, 2026. (Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“But my preferred option is for the Cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there’s plenty of talent and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role, and then for others to come to the fore, who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss,” she continued.
West, a former junior Foreign Office minister, would need support from 20% of Labour MPs — or 81 members — to trigger a contest.
She said about 10 MPs are backing her effort and expressed confidence more would join, according to the report.
(left to right) Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a meeting with representatives from criminal justice agencies at number 10 Downing Street, Westminster, following a terror attack in Golders Green on Wednesday morning in which two Jewish men were stabbed. Picture date: Thursday April 30, 2026. (Dan Kitwood/PA Images via Getty Images)
Labour suffered roughly 1,400 losses across the U.K. in this week’s elections, with Reform UK making significant gains, according to GB News.
Starmer accepted responsibility for the losses but resisted calls to resign, saying he was “not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos.”
Still, he has not explicitly ruled out a managed exit and is expected to address the situation on Monday.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces growing pressure within his Labour Party following losses in local elections. (Kin Cheung/AFP)
As of late Friday, 22 Labour MPs had publicly called for the prime minister to step down or set a timeline for his exit, the BBC reported.
West did not name a preferred replacement.
“I don’t have a candidate,” she said. “That’s part of the problem.”
“But I think there are several people who would like to do it, who have been planning for months, but I’m very surprised that none of them has popped up today to say ‘I will do it’,” she added.
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