Keir Starmer desperately clings on as chorus of Labour MPs demanding he set out resignation timetable surges - but his deputy says leadership challenge will make party look 'ludicrous'

By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE Published: 09:38, 9 May 2026 | Updated: 09:53, 9 May 2026 Keir Starmer is this morning desperately clinging on to power as the number of Labour MPs demanding he quit reaches nearly three dozen. The chorus of public fury from the Prime Minister's own MPs is continuing to crescendo today after the party suffered a devastating wipe-out across England, Scotland and Wales. While counting in some councils is still ongoing, the party has currently lost over 1,400 councillors, slipped to third in Wales, and is tied with Reform in Scotland well behind the SNP. 33 Labour MPs have now called for the Prime Minister either to resign immediately, or to set out a timetable for his departure as soon as possible. Three MPs have emerged this morning already to condemn Sir Keir Starmer, including former minister Catherine West, who demanded 'an orderly transition'. The Hornsey MP said that the PM's approach 'is not cutting through… unless things change, we risk Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister.' 'That's why, with regret and significant sadness, I firmly believe that Keir should outline his intention to resign as Prime Minister and oversee an orderly transition.' Debbie Abrahams, the MP for Oldham East, told the Today Programme she thinks 'it is a matter of months' before Starmer will have to decide whether to resign if he doesn't immediately turn things around. Catherine West (L) and Debbie Abrahams (R) were two more MPs to emerge this morning demanding the PM set out his departure plans Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) agreed: 'There is a responsibility on the Cabinet to recognise this can't carry on forever'. But Keir Starmer ally Lucy Powell, the Labour deputy leader, condemned her colleagues' plotting and warned that a leadership coup would make the party look 'ludicrous'. Speaking on the BBC this morning, Ms Powell said Labour needs to change its approach, but with Keir Starmer at the helm. She argued that Sir Keir 'is accepting responsibility, he is saying we've got to change. He hears what people are saying'. The Manchester MP said that the Prime Minister is 'very reflective' on yesterday's brutal verdict by voters. But she lashed out at Labour MPs demanding a change of leadership, arguing: 'I don't want to hear about that anymore. I want us to get on with the job.' Asked whether Sir Keir will still be the party's leader in six months' time, she emphatically replied: 'Yes, yes, yes!' The Prime Minister has said in a column for the Guardian that despite the local election wipeout, he will not tack to either the right or the left in order to win back voters. He wrote: 'While we must respond to the message that voters have sent us, that doesn't mean tacking right or left. 'It means bringing together a broad political movement, being assertive about our values, bold in our vision and addressing people's demands. 'Unifying rather than dividing. That is the right approach for our party and, more importantly, it is the right approach for our country.' Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell said a leadership contest would make the party look 'ludicrous' Keir Starmer is digging in and refusing to go, insisting he won't tack left or right to salvage votes after yesterday's local election wipeout  According to the LabourList website, the 33 Labour MPs calling on the Prime Minister to either quit, or set out a timetable for his departure, includes: Some have caveated that the Prime Minister must set out his timetable if he doesn't turn things around, but the growing number of those publicly speculating about his future will be met with gloom in No. 10. So far Cabinet Ministers are holding off, with it speculated that while Wes Streeting has the numbers to spark a leadership challenge he does not want to be the first person to jump. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.