Four Ministerial Aides Resign; 60 Labour MPs Urge Starmer to Set Departure Date

Four ministerial aides resigned on 11 May 2026 as they joined more than 60 Labour MPs publicly urging Sir Keir Starmer to resign immediately or set out a timetable to stand down. Joe Morris quit as PPS to Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Melanie Ward resigned as PPS to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Naushabah Khan as PPS to Cabinet Office Minister Darren Jones, and Tom Rutland as PPS to Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds.

Sally Jameson, who remains PPS to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, called for Sir Keir Starmer to "set out a clear timetable for his departure in September or shortly after". A PPS is an unpaid role appointed by a minister to act as their assistant. Eighty MPs have signed Catherine West’s letter calling for Sir Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure.

In a speech on 11 May 2026, Sir Keir Starmer insisted he would prove the doubters wrong and would not be quitting. He admitted the government had made mistakes but said he had "got the big political choices right". Sir Keir Starmer vowed not to walk away, saying this would "plunge our country into chaos, as the Tories did time and again".

Catherine West had threatened to kick-start a leadership contest over the weekend but after Sir Keir Starmer's speech on 11 May 2026 called on him to set out a timetable for his departure by September. Angela Rayner told a conference of the Communication Workers Union that "we as a party have to do better than this".

She stated that Sir Keir Starmer had "acknowledged the frustration" voters expressed through last week's election results but "we will be judged on actions and not just our words".

Angela Rayner reiterated her call for Andy Burnham to be allowed to return to Parliament. The NEC blocked Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing as a candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election earlier this year. Burnham has the support of many Labour MPs but any leadership contender must be a member of Parliament.

Labour lost almost 1,500 councillors in local elections across England. The party was kicked out of power in Wales. Labour returned just 17 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament. Local election analysis by marketing firm RRD showed that if last week’s local election results were repeated in a general election, cabinet ministers Lisa Nandy, Yvette Cooper and Jonathan Reynolds would lose their seats to Reform.

The RRD analysis showed that deputy leader Lucy Powell, current deputy prime minister David Lammy and veteran Labour MP Dianne Abbott would lose their seats to the Greens. 1 per cent.