STORY
Keir Starmer is facing renewed pressure over his position as Prime Minister after reports that he could announce a timetable for leaving Downing Street on Monday. The pressure follows Andy Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election, which gives the former Greater Manchester mayor a route back into Parliament and the ability to launch a Labour leadership challenge.
Starmer is expected to set out plans for an orderly departure, although Downing Street has denied that he is preparing to resign and said he remains focused on governing. Reuters reported that a Government source said the Prime Minister was still getting on with the job, while senior Labour figures continued to assess whether he could survive a challenge.
Starmer had previously said he would fight any leadership contest, but the political position changed after Burnham’s win. Labour MPs who want a transition have argued that the party needs a new leader to respond to Reform UK’s rise in the polls, while Starmer’s allies have warned that a contested leadership battle would create further instability.