Starmer turns to Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman as pressure mounts over losses

Sir Keir Starmer said he is ‘not going to walk away’ after Labour endured a bruising set of election results
Sir Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure from MPs and trade unions after Labour suffered a disastrous local election defeat.

A string of Labour MPs have broken ranks to call for his resignation as the prime minister was blamed for losing hundreds of councillors in England and a major humiliation in Wales.

Labour haemorrhaged support in former strongholds while Reform UK made huge gains and Plaid Cymru became the largest party in the Senedd election.

Critics turning on Sir Keir include Louise Haigh, his former transport secretary.

Andrea Egan, the general secretary of Unison, Britain’s largest union and one of Labour’s biggest financial backers, warned that the party faced “oblivion” unless Sir Keir stepped down, while Sharon Graham, the boss of Unite the Union, said he faced a choice to “change or die”.

But deputy leader Lucy Powell stuck by the prime minister, saying Labour must “listen” and “change” approach but that her party “does not do hostile takeovers”.

Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday he is “hurt” but is “not going to walk away”.

Most Labour members think Starmer cannot turn party results around, poll finds
The majority of Labour party members do not believe Sir Keir Starmer can reverse the party’s poor showings in Thursday’s local elections, a new poll has found.

Data from The Guardian shows 45 per cent of Labour members say the prime minister should step down.

The most popular choice to replace him was Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who was chosen by 42 per cent of members.

The poll of more than 1,000 party members showed soaring dissatisfaction with Sir Keir’s leadership among members – in October just 28 per cent said the prime minister should resign if Labour suffered poor election results in May.

Comment: Britain doesn’t want Reform UK – it wants electoral reform
The local elections have shattered the two-party system – but not everyone who wants to punish Labour wants to vote for Nigel Farage.

It’s time for a change, says Andrew Grice .

Starmer appoints Harriet Harmer as adviser on women and girls
The first announcement as part of the prime minister’s plan to rebuild after a devastating set of local election results has come in this morning.

Downing Street says Sir Keir has today appointed Harriet Harman as this adviser on women and girls.

“The PM committed to do more to eradicate structural misogyny and achieve a cultural change,” No 10 said in a statement.

“This appointment will help to accelerate progress.”
Baroness Harman is a previous deputy leader of the Labour party and leader of the House of Commons.

Watch: Deputy leader says Labour must 'listen' and 'change' approach but stick with Starmer
Starmer has 'matter of months' to decide his future, senior Labour MP says
Senior Labour MP Debbie Abrahams said the “usual refrain” from voters was “we have concerns about your leader”.

Asked if Sir Keir Starmer should have a timetable for leaving if he cannot improve the situation, the work and pensions committee chairwoman told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “I hope, as he has said, that he will always put the country first and we have to recognise the dangers that we are in now.

“But on this trajectory it doesn’t look good, not just for locals – I lost some really dear colleagues who worked so hard for their constituency – but it means the prospect of us not just losing an election, but who we would lose to and that makes me really fearful.”
She suggested Sir Keir had a “matter of months” to make a decision about his future.

Donald Trump sends congratulations to John Swinney
Donald Trump has congratulated John Swinney after the SNP retained its position as the largest party in Holyrood for the fifth consecutive election.

In a post on social media, the US president wrote: “Congratulations to John Swinney on winning his Re-Election for First Minister of Scotland.

“He is a good man, who worked very hard, along with the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, with respect to Tariff relief for Great Scottish Whiskey — and deserves this Big Electoral Victory!”
It comes after increased tensions between the president and Sir Keir Starmer over the Iran war, with the prime minister refusing to heed Mr Trump’s calls for military assistance in the Strait of Hormuz.

Another MP calls for Starmer to step down and oversee an 'orderly transition'
Former minister Catherine West has joined calls for Starmer to stand down.

In a post on X on Saturday morning, the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet said she “firmly” believes he should outline his intention to resign and oversee an “orderly transition” to a new leader.

Labour deputy leader says ‘we don’t do hostile takeovers in the Labour party’
Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell has described the results as “incredibly painful” for prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

She said he “takes responsibility” for Labour’s disastrous results, adding: "He is very reflective, he's understanding as I do that these are very tough results for Labour, incredibly painful."
She told BBC Breakfast: "He is accepting responsibility, he is saying we've got to change.

He hears what people are saying."
She says the right course of action is for the party to "reflect, to hear, to listen" and to “get behind Keir as the leader and go forward as one team".

Challenged over a potential leadership challenge, she insisted Sir Keir will still be prime minister in six months time, adding “we don’t do hostile takeovers in the Labour party”.

MP dismisses suggestions Andy Burnham would struggle to win by-election seat
Labour MP Connor Naismith, who has called for a change in leadership, dismissed suggestions that Andy Burnham would struggle to win a by-election to enter Parliament.

Greater Manchester Mayor Mr Burnham would need to win a Westminster seat if he is to challenge for the party leadership but Labour was hammered in local elections in the North West.

Crewe and Nantwich MP Mr Naismith said Mr Burnham would be able to defy that trend.

He said: “Andy is the most popular Labour politician in the country.

The suggestion that he wouldn’t be able to win in some of the seats Labour is currently struggling to win is just wrong.

“Ironically, this is precisely why we need him back on the front line of national politics.”
In a post on social media last night, he described Sir Keir Starmer as a "man of integrity" but said new leadership was needed to "bring together a broad coalition of voters".

The Senedd results are disastrous for Labour – but the writing’s been on the wall for months
It did not take an avid political insider to realise that Labour were in serious trouble in Wales and had been for a long time.

Nearly half a million of its 3 million population are estimated to live in “deep poverty” , while the decline of its industrial base has meant that large parts of the Welsh Valleys suffer with high deprivation, an underperforming education sector and lower income levels.

For over a century, Labour politicians have dominated country-wide elections and have held the Senedd since it was established in 1999.

Consecutive leaders in Westminster have never questioned the support they could rely upon in Wales – until today.

For voters in those particular constituencies, the mood has turned from loyalty to anger, with many telling The Independent that nothing had changed in decades, with parties such as Reform UK and Plaid Cymru emerging as serious candidates to win back their trust.

The Independent’s senior reporter Holly Evans was in Newport yesterday.

You can read her full report below:
Labour suffers disaster in Wales – but the writing’s been on the wall for months
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