Cabinet ministers urge Starmer to set resignation timetable

Senior British cabinet ministers have urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for his resignation, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, multiple British media reported on Monday.

But there are splits within the cabinet over the issue, and Mahmood and Cooper are in the minority, according to the BBC.

Over 70 Labour MPs have also called on Starmer either to resign or to set out a timetable for his departure, while at least four Parliamentary Private Secretaries have resigned.

The list of ministerial aides who quit on Monday included Joe Morris, parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Melanie Ward, PPS to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, Naushabah Khan, PPS to Cabinet Office Minister Darren Jones, and Tom Rutland, PPS to Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, BBC reported.

The prime minister is "weighing up his options" ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, according to Sky News.

Starmer is facing mounting pressure to resign following his party's disastrous performance in the local elections. The Labour Party lost almost 1,500 council seats across England and surrendered control of around 40 local councils, including several traditional strongholds.

Speaking on Monday morning, Starmer said while the results were "very tough," he would not be "walking away."

Asked whether he would "fight" potential challengers within his party over his leadership, he replied "Yes," reaffirming: "I'm not gonna walk away."