“Do the right thing for the country”: two state secretaries resign to push Starmer out in the UK

British Prime Minister under pressure. Two British secretaries of state presented their resignations on Tuesday to push Keir Starmer to leave his post, a first. Despite these departures, the Prime Minister indicated that he “wanted to continue to govern”.

Pressure on the Labor leader has only increased since his speech on Monday intended to revive his mandate, after disastrous local elections for Labor last Thursday. According to a British media count, at least 72 Labor MPs are calling on him to leave office or set a timetable for his departure.

“I urge you to do the right thing for the country and the party and set a timetable for an orderly transition so that a new team can lead the changes we have promised for the country,” Secretary of State Miatta Fahnbulleh said in her resignation letter, published on X.

“I can no longer continue to carry out my duties as Secretary of State under the current leadership,” wrote the Secretary of State responsible for combating violence against women, Jess Phillips, in a letter published by Sky News and addressed to Keir Starmer, whom at least 80 Labor MPs are calling to resign.

His support is more discreet, but always present

Keir Starmer, however, indicated to his ministers, meeting at Downing Street, that he wanted to “continue to govern”, according to a government press release. “The country expects us to continue to govern. This is what I do and what we must do as a government,” he said. “The Labor Party has a procedure to challenge the leadership of the party but this has not been initiated,” he argued.

Such a procedure requires that a candidate formally declare himself and obtain the support of 81 deputies (20% of the parliamentary group).

The Prime Minister can thus count on the support of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice David Lammy as well as the Minister of Commerce, Jonathan Reynolds, according to Sky News. The Minister of Labor, Pat McFadden, encouraged him to “keep fighting”.

“The last 48 hours have been a source of instability for the government, which has a real economic cost for our country and for families,” argued Keir Starmer.

His popularity plummets

This context of political uncertainty has concrete consequences: interest rates on government bonds reached a new high on Tuesday at 5.797%, surpassing their peak last week and returning to levels not seen since 1998.

Many Labor leaders want to avoid reproducing a situation comparable to that of 2022, when the Conservatives had three Prime Ministers in just four months.

The 63-year-old Labor leader’s popularity has plummeted since he came to power following Labor’s landslide victory in the 2024 general election, which ended 14 years of Conservative governments.

His detractors highlight his multiple missteps, reversals and controversies, notably the scandal surrounding the appointment as ambassador to Washington of the contested Labor figure Peter Mandelson.

Discontent within his party rose further after last Thursday’s local elections. Labor has lost ground to Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party even in its strongholds in the working-class north of England and Wales. And the Greens, further to the left, took away votes in London.

Who could replace Starmer?

A possible departure of Keir Starmer would not lead to legislative elections but his replacement by another Labor figure.

The British media have mentioned several names for weeks. That of Wes Streeting, the current Minister of Health, appears to be the simplest option since Streeting, 43, is elected to the House of Commons, a sine qua non condition for being able to be head of government.

A serious contender is Andy Burnham, 56, mayor of the Manchester metropolitan area and the most popular Labor figure according to polls. But he cannot run for lack of a seat in Parliament. Organizing an election could take several months and would involve an MP from a “safe” constituency resigning to make way.

The name of former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, 46, is also regularly mentioned in the press.