Keir Starmer, the UK’s prime minister, is facing calls within his own party to resign

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 as around 80 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. Under Labour party rules, 81 lawmakers are needed to formally trigger a leadership contest.However, no one has yet announced they will stand as a candidate for the 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.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. Starmer defiant At the start of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said he took responsibility for the loss