Starmer resists calls to quit as junior ministers resign, senior cabinet holds
Keir tarmer resists resignation calls as four junior ministers quit, but senior cabinet figures including Wes Streeting stay in place and Labour remains split.
Keir Starmer was still resisting calls to quit on Tuesday afternoon, telling cabinet that no formal leadership challenge had been triggered and that Labour had to get on with governing. By 18:00 BST, four junior ministers had resigned: Miatta Fahnbulleh, Jess Phillips, Alex Davies-Jones, and Zubir Ahmed. The pressure on the prime minister had plainly deepened after Labour’s heavy local election losses, but the revolt still had limits.
The clearest of those limits was at the top of government. Labour’s biggest cabinet names had not resigned. Pat McFadden said nobody challenged Starmer in cabinet, other ministers emerged to defend him, and Wes Streeting, long seen as a possible successor, left without openly breaking ranks. That matters more than another round of backbench pressure. A prime minister is in real immediate danger when heavyweight cabinet figures start walking. That had not happened by late afternoon.
The parliamentary picture is still split. The Guardian reported that more than 100 Labour MPs and parliamentary aides had signed a statement backing Starmer. The letter said: “Last week we had a devastatingly tough set of election results. It shows we have a hard job ahead to win back trust from the electorate.” It 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. This is no time for a leadership contest.” AP separately reported that around 80 Labour lawmakers had called on Starmer to go or set out a timetable for departure.
The Prime Minister looks weakened, but not yet finished.
GOING FURTHER
Fourth Labour MP quits as minister and calls for Starmer to step down – UK politics live | The Guardian
Starmer tells cabinet he will not quit without leadership challenge | The Guardian
UK’s Starmer defiant as calls for his resignation grow and several ministers quit | AP
The Latest: Starmer fights for political survival as calls for his resignation grow in UK | AP
What to know about contenders who could replace Keir Starmer as Britain’s Labour leader | AP
How Keir Starmer could be replaced as UK prime minister after discontent rises in his own party | AP
Starmer latest: Four ministers resign as prime minister faces calls to quit | Sky News
Politics latest: Jess Phillips resigns from government as Starmer faces calls to quit | Sky News
Sources:
▪ This piece was first published in Europeans TODAY on 12 May 2026.
▪ Cover: Flickr/Number 10. (Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)
