Starmer defiant as calls to quit grow

LONDON, May 12: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his top team Tuesday that he was getting on with governing the country, defying mounting calls from ministers and MPs to step down.

The Labour premier dared any leadership hopefuls to challenge him, but his position looked precarious after two junior ministers resigned from his government, which could trigger a domino effect.

"The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered," Starmer told ministers during crunch talks over his future, as no one person has stepped forward to challenge him yet.

"The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet," he added, on what has become the most crucial day yet of his almost two-year-old premiership.

At least 80 of Labour's 403 members of parliament have now called for Starmer to quit immediately, or to set out a timetable for his resignation.

Starmer's vow Monday to fight on and prove his doubters wrong did little to calm clamour for his removal.

MiattaFahnbulleh on Tuesday became the first junior minister to do resign, calling on Starmer "to do the right thing for the country and the party and set a timetable for an orderly transition".

Jess Phillips then quit as safeguarding minister, telling Starmer in a letter that she was not seeing the change "I, and the country expect".

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood late Monday became the most senior government figure to advise Starmer to consider his position, UK media reported.

Newspapers reported that other senior ministers, including deputy prime minister David Lammy and Yvette Cooper had spoken to Starmer about his position.

Pressure on Starmer has been soaring since Labour suffered disastrous local election results last week, losing hundreds of councillors to the hard-right Reform UK party and left-wing populist Greens.

Labour also lost its century-old dominance in Wales and were hammered by the Scottish National Party in the devolved parliament in Edinburgh.

The results added to a miserable few months for Starmer who has been engulfed in scandal over his decision to appoint -- and then sack -- Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.    �"AFP