UK PM Faces Mounting Pressure to Resign05/12 06:15

   

   LONDON (AP) -- U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told members of his Cabinet 
on Tuesday that he has no intention of resigning as calls within his Labour 
Party for him to step down grew louder.

   Starmer is trying to shore up support within his Cabinet following a febrile 
few days in the wake of hefty losses for the Labour Party in local elections 
last week, which if repeated in a national election would see it overwhelmingly 
ejected from power.

   The meeting, which lasted about an hour, took place after more than 70 
Labour backbenchers, or nearly a fifth of the party's representation in the 
House of Commons, said Starmer should stand down, or at least set out a 
timetable for his departure. However, no one has yet announced they will stand 
as a candidate for the party leadership, directly challenging Starmer.

   First resignation

   On Tuesday, junior minister Miatta Fahnbulleh became the first member of his 
government to step down, urging Starmer "to do the right thing for the country" 
and set a timetable for his departure.

   Fahnbulleh, who is considered to be on the left of the party, said she was 
proud of her service, but that the government hadn't acted with the vision, 
pace and mandate for change it had been given by voters.

   "Nor have we governed as a Labour Party clear about our values and strong in 
our convictions," she said.

   Starmer defiant

   Despite winning a landslide election victory in July 2024, Labour's 
popularity has sunk and Starmer is getting much of the blame.

   The reasons are varied, including a series of policy missteps, a perceived 
lack of vision, a struggling British economy and questions over his judgment -- 
especially over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to 
Washington despite the envoy's ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey 
Epstein.

   At the start of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said he took 
responsibility for the losses in last week's local elections across the U.K. 
but that he would fight on. Labour was squeezed from right and left, losing 
votes to both the anti-immigrant Reform UK and the "eco-populist" Green Party, 
as well as nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales. The result reflects the 
increasing fragmentation of U.K. politics, long dominated by Labour and the 
Conservatives.

   Starmer said that there's a process to oust a leader and that it hadn't been 
triggered.

   Under Labour's rules, candidates must have the support of a fifth of the 
party's House of Commons lawmakers -- a number that currently stands at 81.

   "The country expects us to get on with governing," Starmer said. "The past 
48 hours have been destabilizing for government and that has a real economic 
cost for our country and for families."

   That cost was evident in financial markets on Tuesday, with the interest 
rate charged on British government bonds up by more than those of comparable 
nations -- that shows that investors are putting a higher price on taking on 
government debt.

   Some voices of support

   As Cabinet ministers left 10 Downing Street, some voiced their support for 
the embattled prime minister.

   Works and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said nobody publicly challenged 
Starmer at the meeting, while Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the prime 
minister was showing "really steadfast leadership."

   Health Secretary Wes Streeting, long believed to be preparing for a 
leadership challenge against Starmer, did not comment as he left the meeting.

   "Wes Streeting, do you want the job, or not?" one person yelled from across 
the street. "Are you measuring the curtains?"

   He was among senior ministers who dodged a barrage of shouted questions from 
a gaggle of reporters outside.

   Though no one in his Cabinet has challenged Starmer, he will be aware that 
someone else within the parliamentary party could trigger the leadership 
process.

   The next U.K. national election doesn't have to be held until 2029, but 
British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a 
general election.

   Starmer had hoped to regain momentum with a speech on Monday intended to 
kickstart his fightback, and an ambitious set of legislative plans to be set 
out by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.