Revision History

Labour MP Catherine West has issued an ultimatum to Cabinet ministers: challenge Keir Starmer's leadership by Monday morning or she will trigger a formal contest herself, after Labour lost nearly 1,500 council seats in the May 2026 local elections. With close to 40 Labour MPs publicly calling for Starmer to resign, the prime minister faces the most serious internal threat to a sitting Labour leader since the 2016 Owen Smith challenge against Jeremy Corbyn, though West currently claims backing from only about 10 MPs — far short of the 81 required to force a ballot.