100 Labour MPs Push Starmer Toward Exit as Burnham Emerges as Likely Successor
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 20
100 Labour MPs Push Starmer Toward Exit as Burnham Emerges as Likely Successor
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 20
Summary
100 Labour MPs are now calling for Sir Keir Starmer to go, and party expectations that he will stay on to fight for the leadership are fading quickly this weekend.
Dreadful 2025 and 2026 election results, a wipeout in Wales and more than a dozen U-turns have convinced many ministers and MPs that Starmer no longer looks electorally viable.
Andy Burnham has emerged as the strongest alternative after showing he can beat Reform and energize voters, though some ministers question his politics and argue any successor should face a real contest.
Starmer still believes he could beat Burnham, but cabinet support is weakening and one senior party figure expects he will conclude he cannot hold ministers together and will have to quit.
Labour now risks breaking its pledge not to mimic the Conservatives' revolving-door leadership, potentially ousting its first election-winning prime minister in 14 years without a general election.