𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A group of Labour backbenchers are plotting to force Sir Keir Starmer to name a departure date in an open letter echoing the manoeuvre that ended Tony Blair’s premiership nearly two decades ago, the Express understands.

Unhappy MPs from the 2024 intake are reported to be quietly building a coalition to challenge the Prime Minister, spurred by the anticipated scale of Labour’s losses in Thursday’s council elections, with heavy defeats expected at the hands of Reform UK and the Green Party.

The letter will allegedly hold Starmer personally responsible for Labour’s electoral collapse and call on him to announce when he intends to stand aside. It comes amid what one minister described as “real anger in the PLP” at Starmer’s leadership, with several cabinet ministers said to be aware of the plot.

Within a day of seven frontbenchers resigning in 2006, Blair had committed to departing within the year — after a letter warned his reluctance to name a leaving date “was damaging the government and the party.”

Who is behind the plot to oust Keir Starmer?

The challenge is reportedly being driven by members of the 2024 intake, though only a limited number have so far been approached to sign. One backbencher privy to the discussions said its success would hinge on how many junior ministers and parliamentary private secretaries were willing to put their names to it.

Cabinet ministers have said privately that any move against Starmer “has got to come from the backbenchers.” Both Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, and Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, are believed to have sufficient backing among MPs to trigger a formal contest — but neither is willing to strike first.

According to a Times report, Rayner is expected to weigh up whether to challenge Starmer directly in the 72 hours following Thursday’s vote. She has recently held private talks with Al Carns, the armed forces minister, in an attempt to bolster her credentials on defence ahead of a potential leadership race.

An ally of Carns confirmed the discussions and said: “They’re talking, naturally. Ange knows it’s one of her weaknesses and if you were looking at someone to wear that particular weakness, he is your man. If you’re putting together a fantasy cabinet, he is defence or foreign sec.”

Could Andy Burnham replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader?

Others in cabinet are urging colleagues to back Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, as an alternative candidate.

Miliband is reported to be manoeuvring for a kingmaker role in a Burnham campaign, with the chancellorship reportedly his price. He has taken himself out of the running but is understood to believe Starmer’s tenure will not last until the next election, and backs Burnham as the left-of-centre figure best placed to restore the party’s fortunes.

Miliband could yet join cabinet loyalists in backing Starmer in the immediate aftermath of the local elections to buy time for Burnham to secure a route back to Westminster as an MP.

What are the expected scale of Labour’s local election losses?

Efforts to build support for the challenge are likely to intensify on Friday morning when MPs will be confronted with the full extent of the party’s losses across England, Scotland and Wales.

The party is braced for third place finishes in Wales and Scotland and a loss of more than 1,800 English council seats. Traditional strongholds including Sunderland, Barnsley and Wakefield are under threat, while London councils could fall to a range of rivals from the Greens and Reform to the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Experts believe Labour is on course for its lowest share of the capital’s vote on record.

One MP in favour of the challenge said: “We will be angry and not resigned to getting absolutely f***ed,” adding of Starmer: “People underestimate our ability to recover when he goes, but we need to do it calmly and properly.”

Not all of the 2024 intake back the move, however — many are wary of how voters might respond. One senior first-term MP cautioned that relatively few names were likely to appear on the letter, and the cabinet has yet to produce a single committed signatory.