More than 70 Labor MPs have called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign. The party lost more than half of the seats it could defend in England last week. Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s radical right party, became the largest in England, at the expense of Labor and the Conservative Party.
According to newspaper The Times three cabinet members, including Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood, have asked Starmer to resign from his position eventually. The cabinet will meet this Tuesday for a weekly meeting.
Speech
Starmer gave a speech on Monday in which he announced he would not resign. “I take responsibility not to walk away, not to plunge our country into chaos, as the Tories have done time and time again, chaos that has caused lasting damage to this country. A Labor government would never be forgiven if it did that to our country again,” he said.
The Prime Minister vowed to prove critics who want him gone wrong. He announced that Labor will nationalize the British Steel steel factory in Scunthorpe. He also argued for greater rapprochement with the European Union, without making concrete new commitments, and increasing opportunities for young people, without going into detail.
Some Labor MPs are also openly speaking out against calls for resignation. “This is not the time to divide the party or ignore the national interest,” said parliamentarian Chris Ward of Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, a constituency in southeast England.
Labor party leader Anna Turley said she is proud of Starmer and his record as prime minister and party leader. “This difficult moment is not a moment to give up, but to take a step forward,” she also said.
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