More than 100 Labour MPs have called for Sir Keir Starmer to step down after Andy Burnham’s crushing by-election victory in Makerfield, a rebellion that has turned the prime minister’s survival into a matter of days.
“Delusional.” That is the word Labour MPs are using to describe Sir Keir’s insistence he can fight on, according to the BBC’s chief political correspondent. The messages span factions, generations and ministerial ranks, all united in the view that the prime minister has entered the endgame.
“More than 100 Labour MPs call for Keir Starmer to resign after Andy Burnham's Makerfield by-election victory.”
Starmer is spending the weekend at Chequers with his wife, while Burnham is away from home with his family. But the political distance between them has never been narrower. “We promised people we weren’t going to do this,” a long-time Labour adviser told the BBC, exasperation in their voice. “But as every hour passes, it is more likely the UK will soon have its seventh prime minister in 10 years.”
The reasons for Labour to switch leader are compelling. Burnham has shown he can beat Reform, who until now seemed a deadly threat to Labour. He is popular in the country, has served as health secretary, culture secretary and Treasury minister, and has a rare talent for making people feel good – something Labour in Westminster has forgotten, says Laura Kuenssberg.
“He’s an instinctive guy – that’s his great talent,” one source told the BBC. Another backer noted he is known simply as “Andy” everywhere he goes.
Harriet Harman told Sky News: “The herd isn’t just moving, it’s stampeding” against Starmer. Labour MP Luke Charters said Burnham “moved political mountains”.
Privately, Starmer still believes he could beat Burnham in a leadership contest. A government insider said: “On Saturday he phoned his closest allies and said, ‘I’m sure I could win’.” But among MPs the word increasingly used to describe the coming contest is “coronation” – with Burnham expected to secure the backing of 81 MPs required to trigger a contest, and then be elected by acclamation, as Gordon Brown was in 2007.
One complicating factor is Wes Streeting, who quit as health secretary in protest at Starmer’s leadership last month. Streeting has insisted he has the 81 MPs needed to trigger a challenge, but is likely to face pressure to fall in behind Burnham to enable a swift transition.
The New Statesman has urged Starmer to “do the right thing” and make way. “Read the runes, understand the momentum, arrange an orderly transition, and Starmer will be remembered as a decent man; fight now, and he will lose, and won’t be forgiven,” it wrote.
Starmer has reiterated he would be a candidate in any leadership election – and under Labour rules, as incumbent he is automatically placed on the ballot. That guarantees a ballot of party members, preventing a coronation. But with more than 100 MPs now openly calling for his exit, the question is not whether he will go, but when.