Starmer latest: PM on the brink as ministers demand he resign ahead of cabinet showdown – UK Times

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Darren Jones said “there’s a lot of fantasy politics going on” when asked about the possibility of Andy Burnham returning to the Cabinet.

The chief secretary to the prime minister was asked if he could foresee a recognition that Cabinet could benefit from someone “with a lot of electoral support” like the Greater Manchester mayor.

Responding, he told BBC Breakfast: “There’s a lot of fantasy politics going on at the moment, Keir Starmer won a historic majority less than two years ago at the ballot box alongside all of us in the Labour Party.”

He told the programme that he spoke to Sir Keir on Monday night, adding that being prime minister “is a gruelling job” and “our job in Cabinet is to support the prime minister to deliver on his ambitions for the country, but also to enable him to do his job as well as possible”.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Darren Jones is normally Sir Keir Starmer’s main cheerleader. Whenever the prime minister finds himself in trouble, he sends his chief secretary out into the Commons or onto the airwaves to defend him. And typically, when a prime minister finds himself on the brink of resignation, the minister they sound out onto the morning broadcast round throws the kitchen sink at trying to defend them (and insist that they’re not going anywhere).

But Darren Jones – for perhaps the first time in his broadcast round career – was muted. He admitted that he “is sad” more than five times in the space of thirty seconds, refused to say whether he thinks the PM will lead Labour into the next election and declined to answer when asked if he thinks Sir Keir should quit.

If that was the best the government had to offer when it comes to morale-boosting-cheerleaders this morning, its really not looking good for Starmer.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Darren Jones has suggested Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to set out a timetable for his departure, insisting he is “talking and listening” to colleagues who have called for him to go.

The PM’s chief secretary told Times Radio: “The prime minister is talking to colleagues, obviously a number of them have said publicly yesterday that they want him to take a particular course of action. As any leader would, he’s talking and listening to those colleagues. I can’t get ahead of what the prime minister may or may not decide.”

Asked directly whether he is considering setting out a timetable to step down before the next election, Mr Jones said: “He’s listening to colleagues and he’s talking to colleagues. As I say, I can’t get ahead of any decision he may or may not take…It’s for the prime minister to decide what he may or may not want to do in the future.”

He added: “It’s right for any leader to listen to members of their team if they want to express their views on these issues. And it’s right that he’s listening to them. I think it’d be worse if he wasn’t.”

Darren Jones has denied the prime minister’s job is “up for grabs” as he defended Sir Keir Starmer this morning.

Asked on Times Radio if Sir Keir Starmer’s job was “up for grabs”, Mr Jones said: “No, and look, the vast majority of members of the Parliamentary Labour Party, of ministers, of members of the cabinet, are focused on getting to the office today and getting on with the job that we were elected to do.

“I appreciate that we had an awful set of election results last week and that many colleagues are hurting as a consequence of that. And it’s right that we have a conversation about the lessons to be learned there.

“But I would just say to my colleagues that we can have those conversations in private, we can agree a way forward … there’s a way to have these conversations and a way not to have them.”

Speaking about the job of prime minister, he added: “It’s a gruelling job. I think anybody who thinks that they can just walk into the job of prime minister and, like the second coming of the Messiah, fix all of our problems probably hasn’t really thought carefully enough about how difficult it is.”

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Cabinet minister Darren Jones declined to say whether he thinks Sir Keir Starmer should resign or not, insisting he won’t “get into private conversations”.

Asked what he thinks the prime minister should do as he faces mounting questions over his future, The chief secretary to the prime minister told Sky News: “Now, look, I’m not going to get into private conversations of other Cabinet colleagues. I wouldn’t have been in the room for a number of them.

“I’d say at the front of my mind is that we’re getting up and getting on with the job, because I think it’s a dereliction of duty to do anything otherwise. And politics is a team sport. Politics is hard.

“We’ve got hard challenges in the country. We’ve had a hard set of results last Thursday, but we rise and fall together.”

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Darren Jones has said he is “a bit sad” when asked about the situation in government.

Amid growing calls for Sir Keir Starmer to resign, the chief secretary to the prime minister told Sky News: “I’m a bit sad, to be honest, because I’m sad that we’re in this situation in the first place.

“I’m sad about the election results last Thursday, when we lost many brilliant colleagues across the country, some of whom have served their local communities for many decades.

“So I’m sad that my team, my party has ended up with a poor set of results, and I’m sad that a number of colleagues yesterday have felt the need to have this conversation in public, as opposed to internally, within the within the party.

“So I am a bit sad about that, to be honest, but, but I’m also optimistic about the future, because we still we’ve only been in government now for less than two years.

“We had a very significant mandate at the last election to deliver on our manifesto commitments.”

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Darren Jones has declined to say whether Sir Keir Starmer will lead Labour into the next election, saying he won’t “get ahead of any decision” from the PM amid growing calls for him to resign.

The chief secretary to the prime minister also said he wouldn’t “belittle” the 70 MPs who have raised concerns publicly over Sir Keir’s leadership in the wake of the disastrous local elections, adding that the PM is “listening to them”.

When asked if Sir Keir was going to lead Labour into the next election, Mr Jones told Sky News: “I’m not going to get ahead of any decision the PM may or may not take.

“He was very clear yesterday that he will not be walking away, as some of my colleagues have asked him to do. We’ve got over 400 Labour MPs in the House of Commons. I don’t belittle the I think now 70 who have raised concerns publicly.

“All I would say is that the vast majority of us are focused on using the time we have in government to be able to deliver the types of change for people across the country that we’re all so passionate about delivering.”

He added: “The prime minister is getting on with the job… Obviously, colleagues are asking the prime minister to consider different options in the future, and as I say, he rightfully is listening to them. It would be wrong if he wasn’t listening to them.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership is on the brink this morning as a growing number of his own MPs call on him to stand down.

But even if those calls were successful, there is no clear successor to the prime minister – meaning a leadership contest would be likely.

Yet, Ms Rayner awaits the outcome of a review into her tax affairs, and Mr Burnham is not currently an MP.

Here is a look at how a potential Labour leadership contest could play out.

The number of Sir Keir Starmer’s own MPs who want the prime minister to stand down has now surpassed 70, it is understood.

These include Catherine West, who over the weekend said she would begin gathering names of those who have lost faith in the prime minister.

Also asking Sir Keir to set out a timetable for his resignation are home secretary Shabana Mahmood and veteran Labour MP Graham Stringer.

However, Labour have 403 MPs in the House of Commons, meaning only around one sixth of them have currently made their dissatisfaction with the prime minister public.