Starmer faces leadership crisis as Burnham eyes Westminster return

Sir Keir Starmer’s grip on Labour came under fresh pressure as a Cabinet resignation, a Commons vacancy near Manchester and a rising revolt among MPs converged into the clearest leadership threat of his premiership so far.

Wes Streeting resigned from Cabinet on Thursday but did not launch a leadership bid, a move that still deepened the sense of crisis around Downing Street. At the same time, Labour MP Josh Simons resigned from his seat near Manchester, opening a possible route for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to seek a Westminster return and, eventually, a challenge to Starmer’s leadership.

Burnham would first have to win selection as Labour’s candidate for the Makersfield seat before any by-election could follow, with the party’s National Executive Committee holding the gatekeeping power. Even so, his language has already fuelled speculation over his intentions. He said he wanted to “change Labour for the better” and make it “a party you can believe in again.”

The pressure on Starmer did not begin with Thursday’s drama. Labour’s heavy losses in the May 2026 local elections left the party more than 1,400 seats down in England, while Reform UK gained over 1,400. The Conservatives lost more than 500. Labour also lost power in Wales for the first time in a century, and in Scotland it tied with Reform on 17 seats in the parliament election. Those results reignited talk of a leadership contest and sharpened complaints from backbench MPs about the government’s direction.

By Tuesday morning, more than 81 Labour MPs were said to have written to Starmer calling for him to step down, exactly the number needed to back a single challenger and trigger a contest. Miatta Fahnbulleh became the first government minister to resign in protest at Starmer’s continued leadership, urging an orderly transition. Starmer has refused to move aside, insisting he would not “walk away and plunge the country into chaos.”

The turmoil landed just before the King’s Speech and the official opening of Parliament, when King Charles III was due to set out the government’s legislative agenda. Starmer has also brought in Labour veterans Gordon Brown and Baroness Harman as advisers in No 10 as he tries to steady his premiership. But with Cabinet discipline fraying, backbenchers split and Burnham hovering over Westminster, the question now is no longer whether Starmer faces pressure, but whether he can still command his party long enough to govern.