Minister backs ‘decade of Starmer’ as PM faces more calls to quit

Christopher McKeon and Rhiannon James, Press Association Political Staff

A Cabinet minister has backed Sir Keir Starmer to remain as Prime Minister for a full decade as Labour MPs continued to call for him to quit.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle insisted Sir Keir was “the right person that needs to lead us through this”, despite Labour suffering an electoral mauling across England, Scotland and Wales last week.

Sir Keir has previously insisted he wants to serve 10 years as Prime Minister, billing it in 2024 as a “decade of national renewal”.

But just two years into his term, he faces increasing pressure from Labour backbenchers to resign and is set to deliver a crunch speech on Monday in a bid to save his premiership.

Ahead of that speech, Mr Kyle acknowledged that Labour had been “convulsed” by last week’s results, but insisted Sir Keir should carry on.

Asked whether he wanted another eight years of Sir Keir’s leadership, he told Times Radio: “I want eight years of delivering for the people of this country, led by the Prime Minister that we have now, that is actually delivering.”

In a rallying call to his parliamentary colleagues, Mr Kyle said Sir Keir needed to “really meet the moment that we’re in”, but added: “We all need to support him in that, because he can’t do it alone.

“And I’ve said this consistently since opposition, that too often people look to him as one person that can fix every problem.”

Later on Monday, Sir Keir is expected to promise sweeping changes to address the “big challenges” confronting the UK in his latest bid to save his job.

He will say: “On growth, defence, Europe, energy – we need a bigger response than we anticipated in 2024 because these are not ordinary times.

“Strength through fairness. It’s a core Labour argument. And you will see those values writ large in the King’s Speech. And you will see hope, urgency and exactly whose side we are on.”

Monday could prove pivotal for the Prime Minister, with former Foreign Office minister Catherine West saying she will launch a bid to challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership if she is still “dissatisfied” after his speech.

She has made clear her campaign is an attempt to force the Cabinet to get behind a candidate to move against Sir Keir rather than a credible challenge to win the keys to No 10 herself.

But MPs on Labour’s left have warned against her plan, arguing it could result in a Cabinet “stitch-up” rather than allowing members to vote on the next leader.

She has also drawn criticism from former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson, whose resignation as a junior minister in 2006 played a key role in toppling Tony Blair.

In a post on Substack, Lord Watson dismissed Ms West’s plan as “amateur dramatics”, saying: “MPs and former MPs in the Lords are not judges on Strictly Come Dancing.”

He added: “Of course Labour MPs are entitled to be angry. The results were grim and the warning signs are real. But a governing party cannot conduct itself as though every poor weekend of coverage requires a fresh regicide timetable.”

Figures on the left of the party suspect that the move could trigger an early contest which could favour Health Secretary Wes Streeting because Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is still not an MP.

Allies of Mr Streeting have pointed to results in Redbridge, the local authority in his constituency where Labour held on in the face of opposition from pro-Gaza independents, to show that he can retain the Westminster seat he holds with a majority of just 528.

But Mr Kyle, a friend of the Health Secretary, poured cold water on suggestions Mr Streeting was plotting a leadership challenge.

He told Sky News he was campaigning with the Health Secretary in Ilford “last weekend”, adding: “After we campaigned, we went for dinner and we went and saw a movie together.”

Saying the pair had seen The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mr Kyle said: “Somebody who is planning to pull the plug and launch a leadership bid in a couple of days’ time doesn’t go to the cinema with a friend.”

Another potential challenger, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, called on Sir Keir to “meet the moment” in a lengthy statement over the weekend in which she also backed Mr Burnham’s return to Parliament.

She is also expected to give a speech to the Communication Workers Union following Sir Keir’s address on Monday.

Meanwhile, MPs have continued to publicly call for Sir Keir to step down.

On Monday morning, Stockport MP Navendu Mishra – a former parliamentary aide to Ms Rayner – told the BBC the Prime Minister should set out a timetable for an “orderly transition” that would allow “the best people” in the party to “put forward their vision”.