UK's Starmer Defies Calls to Set Timetable for Leaving Office

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to resign on Tuesday, telling ministers he would “get on with governing” despite a 48-hour period of growing calls to set out a timetable for his departure after local elections. At a meeting of his cabinet, Starmer, in the top job for less than two years, repeated that while he took responsibility for one of his Labour Party’s worst election defeats, there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest.

Several loyal ministers expressed their support for him. It was the latest pledge from Starmer to continue with a premiership that has faced scandal and policy changes since he won a large majority at a national election in 2024. The situation leaves Starmer and Labour rebels in a stalemate.

Jess Phillips, a well-known Labour lawmaker and women’s rights campaigner, became the second junior minister to resign on Tuesday. She joined more than 80 lawmakers who have publicly called on Starmer to set a timetable for leaving office. Alex Davies-Jones, a junior minister in the justice department, also resigned on Tuesday in protest of Starmer’s leadership.

“We have needed to do more and therefore it is with a very, heavy heart that I feel I have no choice but to resign,” Davies-Jones said in a letter addressed to Starmer posted on social media. All eyes were on a clutch of senior party figures to see whether they would move to challenge Starmer directly.