Keir Starmer spent Friday afternoon phoning cabinet ministers to gauge his support, but the calls delivered a blunt message: set a timetable for your exit by the end of the weekend or be forced out. The pressure, ignited by Andy Burnham's resounding victory in the Makerfield by-election, has left the prime minister’s position in acute peril, with one cabinet minister – who had not previously told him to go – calling his departure inevitable.
Burnham, who won a compelling majority overnight, is expected to travel to London on Monday to meet MPs in the expectation of becoming prime minister within weeks. One MP said they believed about 200 Labour MPs were prepared, if necessary, to sign Burnham’s nomination papers for a challenge, though his supporters hope for a coronation rather than a contest.
“Starmer faces ultimatum from cabinet to set exit timetable after Burnham's by-election win, or be forced out.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is among those who advised Starmer to set out a timetable to leave office, the BBC has been told. A spokesperson for Alexander confirmed the conversation but would not reveal details: “Heidi and the PM spoke this afternoon as part of wider cabinet calls. It was a private conversation and I am not going to reveal what was said.” Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has also told the prime minister to set out a timetable, it is understood. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, by contrast, offered him her full support. At least two ministers – Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood – had previously suggested to Starmer that he should set a departure date; it is understood that Mahmood and Sir Keir have not spoken since the by-election result.
Another cabinet source said: “Everyone thinks it is over and everyone wants it to be a dignified, orderly exit.” But a second added: “There comes a point where you ask: what is more important? Is it loyalty or delivering your agenda? There are big agendas at stake here and those who don’t see which way this is going are going to inevitably end up looking like they were the last ones in the bunker.”
Starmer, however, has insisted he will fight any challenge. “I was elected to serve my country with a mandate that we secured at a general election two years ago,” he told the BBC. He cited achievements in economic stability and immigration control, adding: “If there is a contest, yes I will run. I will stand and I have said repeatedly I am not going to walk away from that.” In a lunchtime call with Labour staff, he urged the party to “pull together” and avoid “plunging our party and our country into chaos by turning on each other.”
Senior Labour sources warned that if Starmer does not resign or indicate a transition over the weekend, there will be an intervention at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. “The prime minister cannot pull the same move again where he refuses to talk to his own cabinet about his future,” one senior source said. Two Labour grandees, David Blunkett and Harriet Harman, have also called for a timetable for new leadership. With Burnham’s allies urging Starmer to reflect, and both Burnham’s team and that of potential challenger Wes Streeting declining media interviews this weekend, the stage is set for a defining few days that could reshape the government.