PM under pressure as aides quit and MPs call for him to resign

Three ministerial aides have resigned over Sir Keir Starmer's leadership, as nearly 60 Labour MPs call for him to stand down.

Joe Morris has quit his role as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Health Secretary Wes Streeting - a potential leadership contender - saying the prime minister "no longer has the trust or confidence of the public".

After a disastrous set of election results for Labour, Tom Rutland also resigned as PPS to Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, saying he did not believe Sir Keir could meet the challenge from Reform UK.

Naushabah Khan, a PPS to Cabinet Office Minister Darren Jones, also quit, as she called for "new leadership" and "a clear change of direction now".

Meanwhile, Sally Jameson, PPS to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, has joined calls for Sir Keir to set out a timetable for his departure.

Nearly 60 MPs have now publicly urged Sir Keir either to resign immediately or set out a timetable to stand down.

In a speech earlier, the PM insisted he would prove the "doubters" wrong and would not be quitting.

He admitted the government had made mistakes but said it he had "got the big political choices right".

Pressure has been mounting on Sir Keir after Labour lost almost 1,500 councillors in local elections across England, with a surge in support for Reform UK, and the Greens also eating into Labour's support in London and other urban areas.

The party was also kicked out of power in Wales, where it has enjoyed political dominance for a century, and returned just 17 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, its worst ever result at a Holyrood election.

In a statement, Morris said Labour councillors and candidates "ended up taking the blame for decisions that were not theirs".

"Despite the prime minister's best efforts, voters simply do not accept that he can lead the change they voted for," the MP for Hexham said.

"It is in the best interests of the country and the party that the prime minister sets out a swift timetable to ensure that a new leader is in place to regain the confidence of the public and to ensure that the government can deliver on the commitments it has made."

Meanwhile, Rutland said in a statement: "I watched brilliant councillors lose their seats last week through no fault of their own.

"Time and time again, speaking with voters at their doors, I heard little dislike for local councillors nor for the Labour Party, but the animosity towards the prime minister was clear from every voter who was choosing to vote for another party or considering doing so."

The MP for East Worthing and Shoreham added: "It is clear to me that the prime minister has lost authority not just within the Parliamentary Labour Party but across the country and that he will not be able to regain it."

Khan, the MP for Gillingham and Rainham, said the PM had "lost the confidence of the public".

"I did not enter politics to stand by while we fail. We need a clear change of direction now and no game playing," she said.

"I am calling for new leadership, so that we can rebuild trust and deliver the better future that the British people voted for."

A PPS, which is an unpaid role, is appointed by a minister to act as their assistant.

Meanwhile, Jameson, a PPS to Mahmood, said Sir Keir "is a man of deep integrity" but "no longer has the confidence of the public" and should "set out a clear timetable for his departure in September or shortly after".

The MP for Doncaster Central added that Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) "should ensure that all potential candidates have the opportunity to stand and any timetable, I hope, would reflect this".

Earlier this year, the NEC blocked Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing as a candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

Burnham has the support of many Labour MPs but any leadership contender must be a member of Parliament, so he would need time for another MP to trigger a by-election for him to stand.

In an attempt to reset his premiership after Friday's election results, Sir Keir gave a speech promising to "face up to the big challenges".

The PM also vowed not to walk away, saying this would "plunge our country into chaos, as the Tories did time and again".

There was temporary relief for Downing Street when Labour MP Catherine West pulled back from launching a leadership challenge.

Over the weekend, the north London MP had threatened to kick-start a contest by putting her name forward but after listening to the PM's speech, instead called on him to set out a timetable for his departure by September.

While not trying to become Labour leader herself, West had hoped to tempt others to launch a bid.

However, as the afternoon went on, growing numbers of Labour MPs called for the prime minister to go, delivering further blows to his authority.

Meanwhile, another potential leadership contender, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told a conference of the Communication Workers Union that "we as a party have to do better than this".

She said Sir Keir had "acknowledged the frustration" voters expressed through last week's election results but "we will be judged on actions and not just our words".

Rayner also reiterated her call for Burnham to be allowed to return to Parliament.