Sadiq Khan has thrown his weight behind Sir Keir Starmer, insisting now is “not the time” for a Labour leadership contest.
The Mayor of London admitted the results from May’s local elections were “really bad” for his party and said they should be a “wake-up call” for the prime minister.
He warned that Labour must “change the pace of delivery” from now on to win voters back, as both Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham have signalled their intentions to challenge Sir Keir for the keys to No 10.
However, Sir Sadiq told The Independent he does not believe now is the time for a change in leadership and called on the prime minister to do more to show people the change they voted for in July 2024 is possible.
“I think the results on 7 May were really bad for Labour in London, Scotland, Wales, and across England,” he said.
“But I also think they are bad for those communities that Labour were elected to serve, and it should be a wake-up call to the national party who are in government to respond.”
Following the devastating results, which saw Labour lose swathes of votes to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, Sir Keir said the results were “tough” but vowed he would not walk away.
Just days later health secretary Mr Streeting resigned from the cabinet and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham announced his intention to return to Westminster in what is likely to become the biggest challenge to Sir Keir’s authority yet.
Speaking to The Independent after opening a tech abuse conference in London, the London mayor said Sir Keir’s speech the day after the crushing elections was a “good start” but the government must make sure it “builds upon” the change it has started.
He said: “I’m not suddenly calling for a change of leader but it’s important the government builds upon that so people start seeing the change that was promised in July 2024.
“We’ve focused on helping families across the cost of living crisis, improved living standards of people across the country. We’ve got to address the concerns that people are raising whether that’s victims of violence against women and girls or the other issues that people care about.
“I’m hoping you’ll see a change in pace in delivery from the government from here on.”
It comes after Sir Sadiq warned Labour faced an “existential threat” after the party suffered its worst local election results on record earlier this month.
At the time he failed to explicitly endorse Sir Keir, saying “many people who voted Labour at the last general election clearly feel angry, disappointed and let down”, with Londoners are “frustrated with the slow pace of change”.
