Pressure mounts on Starmer to resign in favour of Burnham

Keir Starmer has come under mounting pressure to resign as the leader of the Labour Party to pave the way for Andy Burnham to take over as the new British Prime Minister.

Burnham’s decisive victory against a looming far-right threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the Makerfield byelection in northern England earlier this week strengthened his claim to the top job.

While Starmer has been steadfast in his commitment to contest any leadership challenge, the growing voices of dissent from within his own cabinet have triggered speculation around his exit from 10 Downing Street as early as next week.

“I was elected with a considerable mandate to serve the country at a general election two years ago,” Starmer told reporters on Saturday.

“There isn’t a leadership contest at the moment, but as I have said on many, many occasions, I don’t think that’s a good thing for the country to plunge us into chaos,” he said. “I would also add that now that Andy (Burnham) has won (in Makerfield), which is really good because he is a huge asset to us... It is important that we pull together,” he added. 

Starmer also said that if there is a contest he will face, he will stand and will not walk away. However, this defiance is said to be chipping away behind the scenes as Burnham pushes ahead with cobbling together what his own Cabinet would look like.

According to ‘The Guardian’, the tally of Labour MPs supporting him as the new leader is edging closer to 300.

“As well as working really hard over this weekend, I think he is making time to reflect on the political realities, challenges and opportunities that he finds himself in,” Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle told reporters on Sunday, when asked about Starmer’s plans.