UK PM Starmer defies calls to quit, says he's getting on with governing
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to resign on Tuesday, telling ministers he would “get on with governing” despite a “destabilising” 48 hours of growing calls to set out a timetable for his departure after a drubbing in local elections. At a meeting of his cabinet, Starmer, in the top job for less than two years, repeated that, while he took responsibility for one of his Labour Party’s worst election defeats, there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest. Four ministers expressed their support for him. It was the latest pledge from Starmer to press on with a premiership that has been dogged by scandal and policy U-turns since he won a large majority at a national election in 2024. On Monday, he promised to be bolder in tackling the problems besetting Britain to try to shore up his political future. Borrowing costs rise In a nod to an increase in borrowing costs on the markets over fears of another bout of political instability in Britain, Starmer said the “past 48 hours have been destabilising for government, and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families”. “The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered,” Starmer told his cabinet, according to his Downing Street office. “The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet.” Leaving the meeting, four senior ministers offered Starmer their support, with pensions minister Pat McFadden telling reporters that no one had challenged the prime minister at cabinet. McFadden added there were “many statements of support for the job that he’s doing”. Starmer’s defiance was in marked contrast to the feelings of many in the wider Labour Party. On Tuesday, a junior minister resigned after a handful of ministerial aides also quit the government. More than 80 Labour lawmakers have publicly called for him to set a resignation date so the party could install a new leader in an orderly manner. Muc