Challenge Starmer by Monday or I will, Labour MP tells cabinet

Challenge Starmer by Monday or I will, Labour MP tells cabinet24 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleBecky Morton,Political reporterandHenry Zeffman,Chief political correspondentGetty ImagesLabour MP Catherine West has said if a cabinet minister does not challenge Sir Keir Starmer as party leader by Monday, she will attempt to trigger a leadership contest herself.In an exclusive interview with the BBC, she said her preferred option would be for the cabinet to "reorganise themselves" and put forward their "best communicator" to replace Sir Keir, avoiding a leadership election.But speaking after devastating election results for Labour, West said she was putting the cabinet "on notice" and if she did not hear from a leadership hopeful by Monday she would ask Labour MPs to back her to trigger a contest.For this to happen, 20% of Labour MPs – 81 people – would have to back her.West, a former junior Foreign Office minister, said she currently had 10 MPs prepared to back her in a leadership bid but she was "confident" enough people would come forward to trigger a contest."My preferred option is for the cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there's plenty of talent, and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role," the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet told Radio 4's PM programme."Then for others to come to the fore who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss."However, Cabinet Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said he would "caution colleagues" against her proposal."We've seen over the past 10 years now, what happens when a party in government just starts chopping and changing leaders," he told the programme."It just generates instability and it militates against a focus on delivery."While West is not trying to become Labour leader herself, she could tempt others to launch a l...