West Minster quakes as PM stays put
By Ogugua
It was like an outbreak at West Minster, as Cabinet Ministers began to bow out one after the other, handing in their resignations.
First it was the Health Minister, says UK has ‘lost confidence’ in PM. Dr Zubir Ahmed accuses Starmer of ‘lack of values-driven leadership’ – Follow the latest below
Three more frontbenchers turn on StarmerAlex Davies-Jones, Jess Phillips and Miatta Fahnbulleh also quit and call for PM to go.
Prime Minister refuses to quit at crunch meeting. Starmer vows to ‘get on with governing’ and tells ministers that leadership process ‘has not been triggered.’Six Cabinet ministers planned to urge Sir Keir to go… Mahmood, Healey, Miliband, Nandy, Cooper and Streeting agreed PM should set out exit timetable.
But Starmer refuses to let them speakInstead, PM sets out his case for staying in No 10 and discusses Iran war.
PM Starmer’s Cabinet quakes91 Labour MPs want Starmer gone. PM could be ousted if all rebels back same leadership candidate.
Meanwhile, more than 100 sign letter backing PM. Supportive MPs say party must work together to win back trust, as Starmer braces for more resignations.
Analysis: Echoes of the Boris Johnson coup. Drip-drip of resignations is reminiscent of July 2022 – but will the trickle become a flood?A close ally of Wes Streeting has resigned from Sir Keir Starmer’s Government, as pressure on the Prime Minister to quit continues to grow.
Zubir Ahmed, a minister in Mr Streeting’s department of health, became the fourth minister to quit on Tuesday amid a growing revolt against Sir Keir from his own MPs.
He is the fourth minister to resign after Alex Davies-Jones, Jess Phillips and Miatta Fahnbulleh quit their posts earlier on Tuesday.
In his resignation letter, Dr Ahmed said: “It is clear from recent days that the public across the UK has now irretrievably lost confidence in you as Prime Minister.”
Dr Ahmed’s decision to quit will fuel speculation the Health Secretary is about to launch a leadership challenge to Sir Keir.Six Cabinet ministers – Mr Streeting, Shabana Mahmood, John Healey, Ed Miliband, Lisa Nandy and Yvette Cooper – had been expected to demand Sir Keir’s resignation during a crunch meeting this morning.
An immediate leadership contest will benefit the Health Secretary because his main rival for the top job, Andy Burnham, is not an MP.Dr Ahmed’s standing down follows Joe Morris’s decision on Monday to quit as Mr Streeting’s parliamentary private secretary.
Other MPs on the Right of the party, including Chris Curtis, the chairman of the Labour Growth Group, have also called for Sir Keir to quit.
The Prime Minister dared rebels to oust him this morning, telling his Cabinet that the “process for challenging a leader has not been triggered”.
Credit: Telegraph UK
