Starmer Faces Pressure After Wave of Resignations

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing growing pressure within his own Labour Party after poor results in local elections. The situation worsened after minister Jess Phillips resigned from the government on Tuesday in protest at the prime minister’s leadership.

In her resignation letter, Phillips criticized the way the government was being run and said the cabinet was avoiding both conflict and the defense of its own decisions.

“I want the Labour government to work, but I am not seeing the change that I and the country expected and therefore I cannot continue as a minister under the current leadership”, she wrote.

According to British media reports, more than 80 Labour MPs have publicly called on Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure as both party leader and prime minister.

On Tuesday, Miatta Fahnbulleh, the deputy minister for housing and communities, also resigned. In a post on X, she called on the prime minister to “do the right thing for the country and the party” and prepare for an orderly leadership transition.

Britain’s housing minister Steve Reed said after the cabinet meeting that ministers wanted to continue focusing on their work. Starmer himself has refused to resign.

“The country expects us to govern. That’s what I do and that’s what we must do as a cabinet”, the prime minister said after the cabinet meeting.

(reuters, bak)