Will Keir Starmer resign today as cabinet ministers tell PM to quit?

Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure to resign after around 80 MPs and senior cabinet ministers, including Shabana Mahmood and potentially Yvette Cooper, urged him to step down amid poor local election results. A crunch cabinet meeting on 12 May 2026 will likely address his future, though Starmer has repeatedly refused to quit, while backbench MP Catherine West suspended a leadership challenge requiring 81 signatures.
Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under intense pressure to resign after nearly 80 MPs and senior cabinet ministers demanded his departure following a disastrous round of local elections. Reports from *The Times* and *The Guardian* name Shabana Mahmood, Yvette Cooper, and three unnamed ministers as key figures advising Starmer to step down. The prime minister has scheduled a cabinet meeting on 12 May 2026 to address the crisis, though he has repeatedly stated he will not resign. The opposition to Starmer has grown significantly, with multiple Labour MPs resigning from ministerial roles in recent days. Backbench MP Catherine West attempted to trigger a leadership contest by collecting signatures but suspended her challenge after failing to secure the required 81 MPs. However, the current number of MPs calling for Starmer’s departure is now close to that threshold. Two potential successors have been mentioned: Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has denied plans to challenge Starmer but remains a frontrunner due to his media presence, and Andy Burnham, the popular Mayor of Greater Manchester, though his parliamentary ambitions were recently blocked by the party. Streeting’s ties to the disgraced Peter Mandelson could complicate any leadership bid. Starmer’s approval ratings have plummeted, and the party’s internal divisions risk further damaging its standing in polls. While he maintains public defiance, the pressure from within his own ranks suggests his position is increasingly untenable. The outcome of the cabinet meeting will be critical in determining whether Starmer survives or is forced to resign.
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