LONDON – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a deepening revolt within the Labour party as junior government figures resign, and lawmakers call for him to set out a path to leave office after heavy election losses last week. The Labour party lost over 1,400 seats in the May 2026 elections, and also lost control of over 30 councils. A majority of those seats were lost to the right-wing Reform party.

Update: As of 10 p.m. local time, ITV is reporting that Deputy Prime Minister David Lemmy and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood have also urged Starmer to step down. Two other senior Ministers are reportedly at 10 Downing Street at this hour. Earlier, parliamentary private secretary Melanie Ward also resigned, marking the fourth front-bench resignation. Over 80 back-bench Labour MPs have publicly joined the letter calling for Starmer’s ouster.

Original Story: Former junior minister Catherine West said she is seeking support from Labour lawmakers to push for a new leadership election by September, though she said she would not declare herself as a candidate. At the time of publishing, as many as 67 Labour MPs have joined the call for Starmer to quit.

The pressure has spread into the lower ranks of government. Sky News reported that Catherine McKinnell became the first member of government to call for Starmer’s ouster, while The Guardian reported that parliamentary private secretary Sally Jameson also called for a timetable for his resignation.

Starmer has rejected calls to quit, warning that a leadership contest would create instability as Labour faces pressure from Reform UK, the Greens, and internal divisions. He used a Monday speech to promise closer ties with Europe and insist he would “prove doubters wrong.”

No senior cabinet minister has launched a challenge, but Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham are being discussed as possible successors, according to The Guardian.