Why Labour lawmakers are calling for UK PM Keir Starmer to resign

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to step down as dissent grows within the ruling Labour Party, with several lawmakers openly calling for his resignation

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in troubled waters. Following the Labour Party's crushing defeat in local and regional elections across England, Scotland and Wales last week, a growing chorus of senior cabinet ministers is demanding Starmer step down.

 

Many Labour MPs fear Starmer cannot win the next general election. The demand resulted in minister Miatta Fahnbulleh's resignation on Tuesday.

 

However, Starmer appears to be doubling down on his position, stating that “he will get on with governing”.

 

Rise of Reform UK and Nigel Farage

 

The Labour Party under Keir Starmer has seen the rapid rise of Nigel Farage and Reform UK, alarming its MPs. Reform has been attracting working-class voters in northern and Midlands regions that earlier backed Labour. 

 

 

The local elections across 136 English councils exposed Labour’s declining support, with Reform UK winning over 1,450 council seats. The right-wing populist party made major gains in former Labour strongholds such as Sunderland and Barnsley, key Conservative areas including Essex and Suffolk, and also recorded breakthroughs in Scotland and Wales.

 

Falling public trust and approval

 

Reports suggest Starmer’s personal approval ratings have dropped sharply. Critics inside Labour say he appears overly cautious, technocratic and uninspiring. While requesting Starmer to step down, several MPs reportedly feared his leadership could damage the party’s prospects in the next elections. In her public statement, Fahnbulleh said she no longer believed he could deliver the change Labour had promised, arguing that a new leadership was needed to rebuild trust.

 

The perception that Labour promised renewal but has not improved everyday life has become a major issue. Starmer is said to have failed to offer a compelling response on immigration, cost of living, and national identity issues.

 

Within a month of the election, Keir Starmer’s approval rating dropped from +7 to 0, with polls showing growing public dissatisfaction and YouGov ranking him among the most unpopular UK prime ministers in recent history.

 

Internal Labour divisions

 

The prime minister met several senior cabinet ministers on Monday, some reportedly told him to oversee “an orderly transition of power” after devastating election defeats, according to The Guardian.

 

More than 70 Labour MPs, including several junior backbenchers, said Keir Starmer had failed to convince them he could lead the party into the next election, accounting for nearly a quarter of Labour’s backbench lawmakers.

 

The party is increasingly split into rival camps: Centrists want stronger electoral messaging and fear collapse at the next election. Left-wing MPs accuse Starmer of abandoning Labour’s traditional values. Others believe he lacks a clear ideological direction.

 

Senior ministers and MPs are now openly discussing successors, including Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham.

 

Economic woes

 

The UK economy grew by just 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2025, with weak business investment and stagnant services adding to concerns over Keir Starmer’s economic policies.

 

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said, as quoted by The Times, “We had 14 years of Conservative austerity. Keir Starmer was voted in on a promise of change and, actually, what we’ve seen is very little change, and in many ways things have got worse.”

 

However, Starmer has continued to receive backing from senior ministers. “People are worried about current conflicts and looming global crises. They expect their government to lead the country through, as the PM is doing,” Secretary of State for Defence John Healey wrote on X.

 

In Tuesday's cabinet meeting, several ministers spoke to the media and expressed their support for the prime minister.

 

Starmer told top ministers that he was not resigning despite growing calls from the public and within his own government. “The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet,” he said.