Sir Keir Starmer has issued an extraordinary warning to Labour over “political infighting” and urged his rivals not to try to oust him as speculation over his future as prime minister intensifies.
The Labour leader called for unity as his party braces for what are expected to be disastrous election results across England, Scotland and Wales this week which could place his position in peril.
He warned his party against repeating the mistake of the last Conservative government and “descending into political infighting”. Three Conservative prime ministers were ousted by their own party between 2019 and 2022.
As the row escalated, transport secretary Heidi Alexander hit out at those within her party who want a leadership contest, saying they should “give their heads a gentle wobble” and that voters did not want the party to become a “self-indulgent debating society”.
The PM’s fightback follows reports Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, is formulating a plan for a swift return to Westminster, potentially “within weeks,” from where he could challenge Sir Keir, while others within Sir Keir’s own cabinet have leadership campaigns ready to go.
The Labour leader has been forced to spend much of the last month in the run up to these elections battling the fallout from his handling of the Lord Mandelson scandal.
Labour is forecast to lose up to 1,850 council seats across England on Thursday, in what would be a bloodbath for the party, and rack up terrible results in its former fiefdoms of Wales and Scotland.
Mr Burnham has reportedly identified a path back to Westminster – and a possible challenge to Keir Starmer – after the PM and his allies previously blocked him, through a by-election where a sitting Labour MP would be prepared to step aside.
He was dramatically prevented from standing for Parliament earlier this year by Labour’s powerful ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), but it is thought that would also no longer be a hurdle.
Meanwhile, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Angela Rayner, Sir Keir’s former deputy, are thought to have the backing of the more than 81 MPs needed to trigger a leadership contest.
In an extraordinary intervention just days before the elections, Sir Keir wrote in the The Observer: “We have a choice. We could sink into the politics of grievance and division. Or we could rise to this moment – together – in a national effort that matches the scale of the threats and turbulence we face.
“I am talking about a national mission to become a stronger, more resilient, and more united nation, allowing us to take control of our future, raise our sights, and reach towards something better.
“When the nation rallied together to deal with Covid, the last government could have channelled that spirit to build a better nation.
“But instead, they descended into political infighting and let the country slump back to the old status quo. Not this time.”
He continued: “This government will reshape our nation. Over the coming weeks, through the King’s speech and beyond, we will set out our agenda of radical reform – with activist, interventionist government building a stronger and fairer country.”
Doubling down on his plans to forge closer ties with Europe, the prime minister said: “Recovery depends on rebuilding the strength of our economy to make us more resilient to these kinds of shocks in future.
“That means deepening our economic relationship with the EU.
“The world has changed since 2016. And Brexit today looks quite different. It has damaged our economy and there’s no doubt in my mind where the national interest lies.
“Britain must be at the heart of a stronger Europe on defence, on security, on energy, and on our economy. I will be at the European Political Community summit today to take this forward.”
