British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is under intense pressure to quit from within his Labour Party after a set of poor local election results, will not set out a timetable for his departure, his deputy David Lammy said on Monday.
The heavy losses for Labour in the May 7 elections triggered almost a quarter of his lawmakers to call for him to go, and two rivals are openly vying to replace him, unsettling investors who have pushed up the government’s borrowing costs.
“There will be no timetable for departure,” Lammy told Sky News, adding that he had spoken to the prime minister twice on Sunday.
Lawmaker Wes Streeting, who quit as health minister last week, said on Saturday he would stand in any formal leadership contest. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is seeking a seat in parliament that would allow him to make a challenge too.
Starmer has repeatedly said that he intends to fight any leadership challenge. A contest would begin if one lawmaker submits 81 nominations to the party – equivalent to 20% of the elected Labour Party members of parliament.
(Reuters)
