U.K.’s PM Starmer digs in as calls for resignation grow

Buckingham Palace reportedly had talks with 10 Downing St. over leadership crisis in run up to King's Speech

Published May 12, 2026  •  Last updated 24 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Tuesday. Photo by Getty Images

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Tuesday he has no intention of stepping down despite increased calls from fellow members of his Labour Party to do so, on top of some members of his government who quit in protest.

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Starmer was trying to stop the bleeding and shore up political support within his cabinet one day before King Charles III formally opens Parliament with the King’s Speech.

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Anarchy in the U.K.

Starmer’s future as prime minister has come into question following local and regional election results that saw Labour take devastating losses all over the country. Party members are blaming Starmer’s unpopularity for the defeats.

Insiders say a potential Labour leadership rival, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting, will meet with Starmer on Wednesday and will likely tell the prime minister to jump ship before he’s pushed.

90 MPs are calling for him to step down or lay out a timetable for him to do so, which isn’t enough to trigger a leadership contest. Under Labour party rules, a fifth of its House legislators, in this case 81, must publicly back a single candidate for a leadership vote to take place. No candidate has yet openly challenged the prime minister, and 100 members of Parliament lined up behind him, signing a letter that declared it was “no time for a leadership contest.”

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Britain’s Health Secretary Wes Streeting exits the door of 10 Downing Street after attending a cabinet meeting in central London on Tuesday. Photo by Getty Images

Resignations

Several junior ministers resigned on Tuesday, and appealed to Starmer to do the same.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister of housing, communities and local government, was first, urging Starmer “to do the right thing for the country.” She was followed by Labour star Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister who called Starmer a “good man fundamentally,” but unable to boldly lead.

“I know you care deeply, but deeds, not words are what matter,” Phillips said. “I’m not sure we are grasping this rare opportunity with the gusto that’s needed and I cannot keep waiting around for a crisis to push for faster progress.”

Why voters have turned on Labour

Labour came to power in a landslide victory in 2024, ending 14 years of Conservative rule in that country. But since then, voters have seen Starmer as dithering on the country’s struggling economy. He appointed Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., who is under a London Metropolitan Police  investigation over his past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Perhaps most frustrating to some British voters is the perception that Starmer is entirely uninterested in dealing with Britain’s illegal migration crisis and migrant crime. Some believe that Britain now administers justice under an ad hoc “two-tier” system that shows leniency to migrants who commit heinous, violent crimes while harshly cracking down on native Britons who criticize the government, earning him the moniker “Two-tier Kier.”

King Charles III opens Parliament in the House of Lords in 2024. Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth /The Associated Press

Leave the King out of your fight, Starmer told

Insiders told politco.eu that Buckingham Palace privately asked 10 Downing St. whether the King should proceed with the opening of Parliament on Wednesday. Charles is set to open Parliament with the King’s Speech, which he will deliver from the House of Lords. The address, largely written by the prime minister’s office, outlines the government’s legislative agenda.

But the King’s team reportedly told Starmer’s team in no uncertain terms that the monarch must not be seen to be used as a tool to achieve Starmer’s political ends.

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“The Palace view is ‘we do not want to be any part of this conversation — do not bring us into it,’” said someone close to the matter.

Buckingham Palace was reportedly told it is constitutionally correct for the King to proceed, and the Palace said the King would fulfill his required duties, but there was an understanding that the moment would be an awkward one.

“It is very embarrassing for the King that his government is such a shambles that he has to read out something that may or may not still be the government’s program by the end of the week,” according to the same person.

Trump weighs in

U.S. President Donald Trump had a few words for Starmer when asked by British media for his take on the situation, saying Starmer should pump more North Sea oil to help solve Britain’s economic problems and take a firmer hand on the country’s migrant crisis.

“My advice to him has always been, ‘Open up your oil in the North Sea.’ You got one of the great oil finds in the world and you’re not using it,” Trump said. “And get tough on immigration. Europe is being very, very hurt by immigration … I told him from Day One, ‘You’re getting killed on energy. You’re windmilling your country to death.’ ”

Asked whether Starmer should stay or go, Trump said, “That’s up to him.”

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