UK politics live: Starmer has lost the country and should resign as PM, says former Labour ally

Catherine West’s ultimatum for the cabinet to put forward a challenger amongst themselves to replace Sir Keir Starmer has not been met with enthusiasm from all of those who wish to see the prime minister resign.

The Labour MP’s deadline to oust Sir Keir has been rejected by some on the left of the party, who say it would serve as a “major stitch up to party members” locked out of the decision.

MP for Liverpool West Derby Ian Byrne yesterday called on Sir Keir to set out a timetable for his departure, but said today he cannot support Ms West’s suggestion of a cabinet meeting to appoint the next leader.

“This would be tantamount to a palace coup,” he said.

“The same people who backed disastrous policies that have caused such harm, like the winter fuel and disability cuts, must not now be allowed to determine Labour’s future behind closed doors.

“Nor must a rushed leadership contest be manipulated into a coronation by the party clique that led us into this disaster as any leadership election would be carried out under rules decided as part of Morgan McSweeney and Labour Together’s anti-democratic clampdown in our Party.”

Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) chair Richard Burgon also said he did not support Ms West’s proposal, while former shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for a democratic process.

The concern may speak to concern in the left of the party that they do not have a preferred candidate within the cabinet, with Angela Rayner still not having returned amid a tax investigation and Andy Burnham being locked out of Westminster.

Anas Sarwar said he “absolutely” intends to stay in post as Scottish Labour leader as he blamed a “national wave” against the party across the UK as the reason for their defeat in the Holyrood election.

With Scottish Labour recording its worst result of devolution with only 17 MSPs elected, Mr Sarwar accepted the result of the election was “disappointing and hurtful”.

Labour is now tied with Holyrood newcomers Reform UK for second place in the Edinburgh Parliament.

But with Labour also suffering poor results in local councils in England, and losing control of the Senedd in Wales for the first time since devolution, Mr Sarwar insisted that the election “came down to a big national wave and a general vibe we couldn’t change”.

Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show the Scottish Labour leader accepted his “fair share of the responsibility” for the result, which saw the SNP returned to power for a fifth consecutive term in government.

But he insisted “there was a national wave” against Labour, with Mr Sarwar, who called for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to quit back in February, saying: “You can see that right across every part of the United Kingdom.”

The Holyrood election was the “least proportional” and “most volatile” election Scotland has ever had, a political science professor has claimed.

Ailsa Henderson, from the University of Edinburgh, said proportionality “is the way in which the percentage of seats won relates to the percentage of votes earned”.

She told BBC Scotland that this year’s turnout could be the least proportional Scotland has seen because of “split ticket voting”, where people have voted for different parties on the constituency and regional list ballots.

“Our results are always more proportional than UK elections because of the electoral system we use, but this is the least proportional one and partly that is to do with split ticket voting – so people voting for different parties on the constituency and on the list,” she told the broadcaster.

“The ability of the list to correct for disproportionality in the constituencies only works if people vote for the same party on the constituency and the list.

“And we know that… whether because people genuinely prefer a party that only stands on the list or because they’re trying to game the system in some strategic way, split ticket voting was at an all time high, more than half of people voted for a different party and that figure was about 30 per cent in 2021.”

The SNP has 58 MSPs, seven short of a majority and down from the 64 the party won in 2021.

Reform tied with Labour for second place, with 17 MSPs each .The Scottish Greens returned 15 MSPs, a record high, while the Tories returned 12 MSPs to the Scottish Parliament, down from 31 at the last election.

Catherine West gave cabinet ministers until Monday to challenge the prime minister in a leadership contest.

If they fail to do so, the Labour MP says she will do it herself.

Yesterday, Ms West called for Keir Starmer’s resignation, saying “I firmly believe that Keir should outline his intention to resign as prime minister.”

Ms West has been the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, previously Hornsey and Wood Green, since 2015.

She now sits as a member of the treasury select committee and is the UK’s trade envoy to Pakistan.

Formerly, she has held the roles of junior foreign office minister and held shadow minister roles for Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Americas, and Sport.

In 2022, she received the Patchwork Foundation’s MP of the Year award for her work with diverse communities underrepresented in public life.

She was also awarded Local Government Leader of the Year Award by her peers in 2012.

Richard Tice and Reform has been called “utterly grotesque” for being unable to clearly condemn a newly elected party councillor who said Nigerians should be melted to fill potholes.

Reform UK candidate Glenn Gibbins won his seat in Sunderland in this week’s council elections.

In now deleted posts, he reportedly complained on social media about the “amount of Nigerians in town” and said they “should melt them all down and fill in the pot holes”.

Asked about the comments on Sunday, Mr Tice said Reform “have an internal party process”, but appeared to suggest the question was “smearing and sneering”.

A Labour Party spokesperson said it was “utterly grotesque that Reform can’t even call out clear racism”.

“It speaks volumes that Richard Tice tried to brush off these comments. And it speaks volumes that Nigel Farage refused to sack him as a candidate and is now happy to have him represent Reform as a councillor. They’re both a disgrace.”

Catherine West said women in the Labour Party need to stand against Sir Keir Starmer.

Ms West told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “I say to the women of the Parliamentary Labour Party, don’t just allow the men to stand.

“I think we need to modernise. I think we’re looking very dated and I think we need to energise our communications and I think we need to repair our relationship with the Civil Service.”

The deputy leader of Reform UK Scotland has accused other parties at Holyrood of “political posturing” by not engaging in talks with the party.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, First Minister John Swinney said he would not be inviting Reform UK to talks at the Scottish Government headquarters in St Andrew’s house.

Previous housing secretary and newly elected SNP MSP for Clydesdale Mairi McAllan doubled down on Mr Swinney’s comments while speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show.

She said: “I think there are a portion of Reform voters who have voted for Reform this time because they’re either angry or because they’ve been made to feel scared.

“We will speak directly to them and work to improve their lives so they no longer have to feel that way.

“But we will not deal with the likes of Malcolm Offord and his acolytes in the Parliament.”

Reform UK won their first seats in the Scottish Parliament, coming in joint second place with Labour after the Holyrood elections.

Asked if he would have invited Reform in for talks had Labour won the election, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said “no”.

Reform UK Scotland’s deputy leader Thomas Kerr said the comments were “political posturing and “anti-democratic”.

He said: “We’ve not even stepped foot in the chamber yet. These are politicians who are doing political posturing before we’ve even stepped foot in the chambers of the Holyrood Parliament.”

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

Two senior MPs on the left of the Labour Party from the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) have said they are unhappy with Catherine West’s bid to remove Keir Starmer as leader.

The SCG has previously made it clear that it wants Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to return to Westminster to replace Sir Keir.

However in a statement SCG chair Richard Burgon, a leading critic of Sir Keir, said that Ms West wants “a palace coup” which he cannot support.

He said: “I do understand Catherine West’s deep frustrations. They are shared by a large number of MPs and Labour members who feel we cannot go on like this and that Keir needs to go – as I have also called for.

“But I can’t support the proposals she explained on TV this morning. Catherine’s stated preference is for a Cabinet stitch-up – a kind of palace coup.

“That would mean the very people who sat back and allowed terrible decisions like the winter fuel and disability cuts to happen end up deciding the future of the party. That will not be seen by the public as a clean break.”

He called for Sir Keir to set a date for his departure followed by a “full and proper democratic process”, involving all MPs, made unions and party members – not just the cabinet.

Earlier, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell also called for a democratic process.He said: “Catherine West is reflecting the upset in her constituency where so many seats were lost but I don’t think this is right approach. We need to discuss how we go forward & I worry some in shadows want to exploit her concerns and bounce us before we have a proper democratic process.”

Richard Tice refused to say whether Nigel Farage had received any further large donations that had not been declared on Sunday morning.

The Reform leader was referred to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner by the Conservatives after it emerged he had received a £5m previously undeclared gift from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire in 2024.

Asked on Sunday whether there are any other undeclared gifts, Mr Tice told the BBC: “I look after my own finances, and Nigel looks after his.”

Anna Turley MP, chair of the Labour Party, said the response shows “Farage and his MPs clearly believe there’s one rule for them and another for everyone else”.

She said: “Reform have consistently attempted to dodge scrutiny. Deputy leader Richard Tice still refuses to answer over his own tax scandal. Reform are simply riding roughshod over public trust in politics.”