Labour backlash over PM’s election catastrophe grows : Live updates

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, the Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton, has said ‘change cannot come soon enough’ after her party received a thrashing in the most recent local elections.

While congratulating all the Lambeth Labour candidates who were elected, she described the recent set of results as a ‘disaster for our party on both a local and national level’.

The government’s current strategy is holding the door open for a Reform government and electoral oblivion in Labour heartlands up and down the country.

Change cannot come soon enough”

Her recent statement came just minutes after fellow Labour MP, Catherine West called on cabinet members to challenge Sir Keir’s leadership.

Catherine West, the Labour MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, said if cabinet ministers do not challenge Sir Keir as party leader by Monday, she will throw down the gauntlet for the party’s top role.

She told BBC Radio 4 that while she would prefer for cabinet to ‘reorganise themselves’ and replace the Prime Minister with their ‘best communicator’.

However, West has put cabinet ministers ‘on notice’, saying she would ask for her peers’ support to trigger a leadership contest if it is not done by Monday.

For a leadership contest to be triggered, 20 per cent of the party’s MPs, would have to back a single contender.

West has insisted she has ten colleagues ready to support her bid for leadership.

She said:

My preferred option is for the cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there’s plenty of talent, and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role.

Then for others to come to the fore who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss.”

Labour MP Catherine West has said she would like to see Cabinet ‘locking itself in a room’ and coming up with a plan to respond to ‘the worst election result’ for Labour since 2001.

She said:

What I’d like to see is the Cabinet locking itself in a room tonight and coming up with a plan to respond to what was the worst election result for the Labour Party, that I can remember, and I’ve been in public life since 2001.

We lost very badly in Wales, the leader lost her seat. We lost very badly in Scotland. Several very good candidates didn’t win. We lost very badly in London, including the local leaders of my own borough.

This is what we would describe as an electoral emergency and sadly, the Cabinet have not come out strongly to lead us, to tell us what’s coming next.”

When asked if she is acting now to prevent Andy Burnham getting a chance, she said: “Not at all’

I think Andy should be part of the leadership team, and I would expect that any leader will want to appoint Andy, perhaps, to the House of Lords, because you could be a minister in the House of Lords, and he would make a fantastic contribution.

Whether he can necessarily be the Prime Minister from the House of Lords, that would be very unusual.”

Ed Miliband’s name has emerged as a possible challenger to Sir Keir Starmer after Catherine West called for cabinet ministers to oust the Prime Minister.

The Labour MP said she would launch a leadership challenge if cabinet did not oust Starmer by Monday.

MPs from Labour’s left are expected to push Ed Miliband to take up the leadership bid in the next few days, The Guardian reported.

MPS would prefer the Energy Secretary to pick up the gauntlet rather than wait for Andy Burnham, who would have to wait for a by-election to challenge Sir Keir.

Angela Rayner does not have the backing needed, the MPs believe, the publication reported.

Labour insiders have said many of those publicly supporting Sir Keir on social media, believe he should quit in private, even cabinet members.

A Labour official told Politico:

“Lots of the people who were tweeting effusive support for Keir think he should go in private, including in the Cabinet.”

It comes as cabinet ministers have used vague terminology in their support of the Prime Minister publicly, saying statements such as: ‘As the prime minister has said, the party should improve.’

This includes the likes of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Some of the Labour leader’s allies have yet to speak publicly.

By Sophie Church

The Green Party fell below its own expectations at its first real electoral test in a set of mixed results for Zack Polanski’s troupe of radical Leftists.

The party made gains in inner-city strongholds at local elections yet struggled to deliver the ‘Green wave’ of councillors ‘sweeping England and Wales’ Mr Polanski had predicted in March.

Where recent polls had the Greens winning 555 local council seats nationally from a base of 141, last night it looked like they might fall around 100 short of such a tally.

But they still tore chunks from the Labour vote to contribute to a nightmare for Sir Keir Starmer.

The Greens landed their first two mayoralties, took control of Norwich City Council and ousted the Labour leader of Camden Council in Sir Keir’s own Holborn and St Pancras constituency.

They also scooped up 31 seats directly from Labour in Waltham Forest, east London, landing their first council in the capital.

But, as an insurgent party with a sudden surge in support, they found translating momentum into seats difficult.

A lack of a targeted approach, plus recent anti-Semitism scandals, saw the Greens miss out in several places with votes for them only aiding other parties, such as Reform, by draining support from Labour.

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There is no formal confidence vote procedure to oust a Labour leader, meaning any challenger to Sir Keir would instead require the support of 81 MPs – 20 per cent of the party in the Commons – to trigger a contest.

Written nominations would need to be submitted to Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley.

In the case of a successful challenge, Sir Keir would be on the ballot by default as the incumbent and would not need to gather nominations.

If Sir Keir were to resign, it would automatically start a contest for a new leader.

It is up to the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee to set the timeline for a leadership election.

It is understood that Labour will probably abstain in voting to confirm Rhun ap Iorerth as the next First Minister of Wales, the BBC has reported.

The move makes it clear that the Plaid Cymru leader faces very little challenge in taking the top spot in the Senedd.

It is believed Plaid Cymru want the votes to be cast next Tuesday, the Senedd must give notice of at least 24 hours if the meeting can take place.

Meanwhile, who will take up the position as the next presiding officer remains an unresolved issue.

Catherine West, the Labour MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, said if cabinet ministers do not challenge Sir Keir as party leader by Monday, she will throw down the gauntlet for the party’s top role.

Labour has lost Lewisham for the first time in 55 years after the Green Party won control of the council.

The party won a majority by winning 30 of the first 39 results to be announced, with Labour taking just nine.

The successful Green candidates included Liam Shrivastava in Crofton Park Ward, although he will give up his council seat after winning the Lewisham mayoral election on Friday.

It is the first time Lewisham has not been run by Labour since they won control of the council from the Tories in 1971.

Sir Keir’s party held every seat on the council since 2018, but had no overall control between 2006 and 2010.

Labour had overall control of the council from 1971 until 2006 and again in 2010 to 2026.

The party won a majority by winning 30 of the first 39 results to be announced, with Labour taking just nine.

Labour had 50 seats on the previous council and the Greens only four, and Lewisham became the 12th London council where Sir Keir Starmer’s party lost control, with Hackney and Waltham Forest also being taken by the Greens.

The Conservatives won Westminster, while Barnet, Brent, Enfield, Haringey, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark and Wandsworth all slipped into no overall control.

Voters in London and Havering, where Reform won control of the council, have given their reaction to the disastrous night for Labour in the local elections.

And whether Sir Keir Starmer can carry on as Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage plans for the future.