The comments made by Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, on 22 June 2026.
The Prime Minister has made the right decision.
I want to thank Keir for all his work as leader of our party. While we haven’t always seen eye to eye, I believe he cares deeply about the people of this country, and his dedication to the role has never been in question. He achieved a historic victory at the last general election and, under his tenure, our government has passed the biggest uplift to renters’ and workers’ rights in a generation; taken important action to tackle violence against women and girls; lifted children out of poverty; prioritised clean energy; and renationalised train services.
On a personal level, I have appreciated the kindness and respect Keir has shown me, including during difficult conversations. I wish him and his family well during this period of transition and for the next chapter of their lives.
I am sad that it has come to this, just two years into a Labour government – a precious, rare opportunity that has largely been squandered, burning through political goodwill and opening the door to a far-right government come the next election.
Even though I did not vote for Keir to become leader, I desperately wanted him and our party to succeed. Throughout many disagreements and mistakes, I hoped the situation was retrievable and that he could change direction. Last November, when it became clear that the Prime Minister and those around him were unwilling to genuinely listen and learn from their errors, I publicly called for him to stand down.
Going forward, we cannot continue with more of the same, just with someone new at the helm. We need a change of direction that is much bolder on the cost-of-living crisis, refuses to give an inch to Reform and aims to unite the country in the face of division.
When Keir stood to be Labour leader in 2020, he ran on a platform that largely had my support. That platform – which included taxing the rich, public ownership, putting human rights at the heart of foreign policy, and defending migrants’ rights – came far closer to meeting the demands of our times than the direction in which he took the party afterwards. We should return to those ideas and our party’s core values, while restoring party democracy to safeguard against the same errors being made in the future.
There must now be a timely and fully democratic contest, in which candidates set out their policies and Labour and affiliated trade union members elect the next leader.