Starmer won't give a timetable for departure, spokesman says

Joe Mayes, Bloomberg News on May 18, 2026

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Keir Starmer will not set out a plan for leaving office, his spokesman said as pressure mounts on Britain’s prime minister to step aside to end the leadership crisis engulfing the ruling Labour Party.

“There will be no timetable for departure,” Tom Wells, Starmer’s official spokesman, told reporters on Monday. “The prime minister is getting on with governing.”

Starmer’s authority has cratered after almost 100 of his lawmakers called for him to go following a drubbing in local election this month. He has also faced calls from within his own top team of ministers to detail a plan for standing down, including from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, but Starmer is resisting.

“Keir Starmer remains the most resilient person I know in my life,” Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said on Sky News on Monday. “We now need to unite and pull together.”

Starmer himself visited Labour Party headquarters in London on Monday and told staff there that he is getting on with the job.

“I am focused on the job that I was asked to do, which is to serve my country and to carry out my duties as prime minister of this country,” he said, according to a transcript from a Labour Party spokesperson. “Delivering for the very many people who voted us into office, who are saying, ‘just get on with it, get on with the job, get on with the change that I need to see in my life.”’

The revolt against Starmer from within his party, which included the resignation of his health secretary, Wes Streeting, has created the air of a de facto leadership contest, even if no contender has amassed the necessary support of 81 Members of Parliament to trigger a formal ballot.

The current favorite is Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who is expected to be selected for Labour to contest a by-election in Makerfield next month. Acquiring a seat in Westminster is a prerequisite for Burnham if he’s to challenge Starmer. Streeting has also said he will seek to join any leadership contest.

Starmer said on Monday that he would support “one hundred percent” whichever candidate is selected for Labour in Makerfield.

“I want every member, everyone in our movement to support them,” Starmer said. “A Labour candidate to beat Reform. That is the fight that we are in.”