Starmer Appoints Brown and Harman as Advisers

Keir Starmer has appointed Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman as advisers in a move intended to ease pressure on him to resign following heavy election losses for Labour. Brown, a former prime minister, was named the UK special envoy on global finance with a brief to develop international partnerships supporting defence and security-related investment, including measures that underpin the UK’s relationship with Europe.

Harman, a former deputy leader, will advise on women and girls with a focus on tackling violence against them, unlocking economic opportunity and improving representation. Both roles are part-time and unpaid. The appointments carry symbolism as Starmer gathers senior Labour figures around him.

Brown was pictured with Starmer at Downing Street on Saturday morning.

for Leadership Change

With most votes counted from Thursday’s elections, Labour lost more than 1,400 councillors across England, shedding support to Reform UK and the Greens in traditional heartlands. In Wales the party lost power for the first time, falling to nine Senedd seats.

It also lost ground in the Scottish parliament. One MP told the BBC she hoped Starmer would put the country first given the electoral threat from Reform UK. She said on this trajectory it does not look good and suggested departure was a matter of months.

Another MP posted on X that there must be an orderly transition of leadership well before the local elections next year. He questioned whether keeping previous leaders despite scandals had helped the Conservatives.

Harman and the party’s deputy leader have defended Starmer. The deputy leader told the BBC it was time to end incessant speculation about his position. She argued that setting out a timetable would simply start a distracting and ongoing debate about leadership.

The deputy leader confirmed she would want the Greater Manchester mayor to be allowed to stand for parliament but said this should not involve him then challenging Starmer. She added that the party does not do hospital takeovers. Starmer will attempt to relaunch his premiership on Monday with a speech expected to call for closer ties with the EU.

Brown’s new role ties in with that agenda. A Downing Street statement said Brown would be tasked with developing new international finance partnerships that can support defence and security-related investment, including measures that underpin the UK’s relationship with Europe.

A separate No 10 statement said Harman would advise the prime minister on how to galvanise government to deliver for women and girls. " — Labour deputy leader, May 2026 (Sky News) Starmer insisted the right thing to do is rebuild.