This is from Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s political editor.
double quotation mark EXCL: Zubir Ahmed, health minister. another close ally of Wes Streeting, quits calling for Keir Starmer to step aside.
Feels like the Streeting bid could be on
Jen Craft, the Labour MP for Thurrock, has said she wants Keir Starmer to resign. She says the pace of change is too slow, and it’s time for a change of leadership.
Huw Irranca-Davies has been elected llywydd (presiding officer) in the Senedd. A former Labour MP for Ogmore. who switched from Wesminster to the Senedd in 2016, Irranca-Davies was deputy first minister under Eluned Morgan.
Kerry Ferguson, a Plaid Cymru member of the Senedd, was elected as deputy presiding officer.
Irranca-Davies said he would carry out his role “with openness and collaboration, fairness and impartiality”.
The Labour MP Graeme Downie, who represents Dunfermline. Dollar, has released a statement saying he wants Keir Starmer to resign.
According to LabourList, there are now 92 Labour MPs who have called for Starmer’s resignation.
Keir Starmer has released a list of 26 people who are getting peerages. While this might seem like a rather extreme way of currying favour in a leadership crisis. this honours list has nothing to do with Labour’s electoral plight. This is a political honours list. these peerages are going to people who already have hereditary peerages but who lost the right to sit in the Lords when the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act became law in March.
The act meant. hereditary peers were no longer entitled to the 92 seats in the Lords they were allowed after Tony Blair’s government got rid of most hereditaries in 1999. This was a concession to stop the Lords blocking the bill.
As a further concession to stop peers blocking Starmer’s bill. the government agreed that some of the 92 remaining hereditaries would be given life peerages so they can continue to attend on the basis of being life peers. There are 15 Conservatives, nine crossbenchers and two Labour peers on today’s list.
Another three hereditary peers got a life peerage upgrade (or downgrade. if you’re a fan of the class system – hereditary peers tend to be proper aristocrats, whereas life peers are generally clapped-out MPs) in an honours list in December.
This is from Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s political editor.
double quotation mark EXCL: Zubir Ahmed, health minister. another close ally of Wes Streeting, quits calling for Keir Starmer to step aside.
Feels like the Streeting bid could be on
Josh Halliday is the Guardian’s North of England editor.
Marie Rimmer, the Labour MP for St Helens South. Whiston, has now released a fuller statment confirming that she will not give up her seat for Andy Burnham. (See 2.14pm.) She says:
double quotation mark Recent speculation regarding my parliamentary constituency seat is completely unfounded. Andy Burnham and I have not spoken since the 2024 general election campaign, when we were campaigning in Altrincham. Suggestions that there have been recent discussions between us about my seat are absolute nonsense. I have a great deal of respect for Andy, he has done some incredible work in Manchester,. I am not planning to stand down for him or for anybody else. I was selected by my constituency Labour party. elected by the people of St Helens South and Whiston to represent them in parliament, and I intend to honour that mandate. At a time when there are serious challenges facing our country. our communities, my focus remains solely on serving my constituents and supporting stable leadership in the prime minister. I do not believe that internal chaos or leadership speculation serves the interests of the Labour party or our country. We were elected to govern and to deliver for working people, and that is where our attention should remain. Any decisions about the future representation of this constituency would only ever be made in consultation with my constituents. my constituency Labour party.
Chris Osuh is a Guardian community affairs correspondent.
Neighbourhoods across the UK will stage community events as part of “A Million Acts of Hope”. a week of events designed to counter “voices of hate” in the UK.
The campaign – designed to celebrate unity. diversity in the UK – is the result of an alliance of more than 200 charities, including Crisis, Save the Children, Trussell, The Wildlife Trusts, Refuge, Mencap, Christian Aid, Together with Refugees, 38 Degrees and HOPE Not Hate.
Events, activities and displays are planned at 350 locations across the UK from 13 May to 20 May.
Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “The voices of hate. division can be loud and give the impression that Britain is hopelessly fractured. But working at Crisis and in the homelessness sector, that’s not what I see. I see kind and committed people in communities up and down the country looking out for each other. It can be hard to be hopeful in changing and uncertain times and when day-to-day living costs continue to rise.”
Bethan McKernan is the Guardian’s Wales correspondent.
Rhun ap Iorwerth has been sworn in as first minister of Wales after Plaid Cymru’s Senedd electoral victory ended 100 years of Labour hegemony. held off Reform UK. Ap Iorwerth was confirmed after a plenary vote today with the support of the 43 Senedd members of his party. two Greens. Plaid Cymru ended Labour’s century-long electoral dominance in Wales in last week’s elections. winning the most seats in the newly expanded 96-seat parliament. Reform, which had hoped to be the biggest party, won 34 seats,. Labour came third with just nine seats, marking a definitive end to the party’s grip on its birthplace. The former Labour first minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat, triggering a leadership contest. Ken Skates, the Senedd member for Fflint Wrecsam and former cabinet secretary for transport, has taken over as interim leader. Under Wales’s new and more representative electoral system, at least 49 seats are needed for a majority. No party was likely to win that,. Friday’s results put Plaid Cymru in a comfortable position to form a minority government. Ap Iorwerth previously told the Guardian he would seek out mature cooperation from all opposition parties on a case-by-case basis,. that his administration would press the UK government for extra powers over policy areas such as policing and justice, rather than engaging in political rows with Westminster. Plaid Cymru has ruled out an independence referendum in the next Senedd term,. the party has repeatedly said it will use its time in government to make the case for an independent Wales. Ap Iorwerth is expected to begin appointing cabinet secretaries on Tuesday afternoon.
Accepting the post in the Senedd, ap Iorwerth paid tribute to the “resilience and determination” of his Welsh Labour predecessor. He went on:
double quotation mark Something has stirred in the soul of Wales – a new confidence. a new hope, a new broader horizon, never to be narrowed again by the naysayers with other priorities in other places.
From this historic moment onwards. every person in every part of our nation can know that the government of Wales is their government.
They will know that their government does not. will not impose on itself or on our citizens any limits on what our nation can achieve.
My promise to everyone is I will lead without prejudice or presumption.
I’ll never take this privilege for granted, nor will my principles be burdened by power because the challenges we face are too many in number. too grave in nature for us to lose sight of what is at stake.
There have been more statements today from MPs who do want Keir Starmer to resign.
This is from Lizzi Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale.
This is from Alex Sobel, MPs for Leeds Central and Headingley.
And this is from the BBC’s Matt Chorley, describing an interiew with Josh Fenton-Glynn, the Calder Valley MP.
double quotation mark Labour MP Josh Fenton-Glynn tells me on @bbc5live. the Prime Minister must set out a timetable for an “orderly transition” to a new leader.
The MP for Calder Valley who was elected in 2024. said “it’s very difficult to imagine a world where he leads us into the next election.”
It was the first time that Josh Fenton-Glynn had spoken out. taking it to 84 Labour MPs who have now explicitly called for Keir Starmer to resign or set a timetable for his resignation as Prime Minister.
He said the Prime Minister will “have a strong legacy”. “he’s done a great job” but that “his voice doesn’t cut through” and the Government needs to be able to better communicate the change it is making.
He said the election results were the “public sending a message.”
Fenton-Glynn said the party shouldn’t act “like frightened deer” in any leadership contest. set out a timetable with a new leader in place “by the end of the year at least.”
More than 100 Labour MPs have signed a letter saying this is “no time for a leadership contest”. Jessica Elgot reports. She says:
double quotation mark 103 backbenchers and PPSs have signed a statement saying this is ‘no time for a leadership contest’. The statement was organised by group of backbenchers, many from the 2024 intake. So far, the number exceeds those calling for him to quit - organisers say it’s rising.
double quotation mark The letter says: “Last week we had a devastatingly tough set of election results. It shows we have a hard job ahead to win back trust from the electorate.”
double quotation mark “That job needs to start today - with all of us working together to deliver the change the country needs. We must focus on that. This is no time for a leadership contest.”
This means the pro-Starmer camp is outnumbering the anti-Starmer camp – but only just. According to the LabourList tally, 88 Labour MPs have said the PM should go.
Luke Pollard, a defence minister, says he won’t be resigning.
double quotation mark Whatever is happening elsewhere in British politics, national security is the first responsibility of government. something I take very seriously. That is why I will not be resigning,. will be continuing to support our efforts to rearm, rebuild our forces and protect the UK
This is from LBC’s Aggie Chambre.
double quotation mark Am told a letter is circulating among backbench Labour MPs saying. now is not the time for a leadership election - apparently has been signed by over 100 MPs.
And here are comments from some pro-Starmer Labour MPs speaking out today.
From John Slinger, MP for Rugby
double quotation mark A change of leadership now. or even prolonged speculation about one, will damage UK investor confidence at a moment when we cannot afford it. I’ve been hearing from businesses with operations in Rugby and beyond, and the message is consistent.
From Kevin Bonovia, MP for Stevenage, commenting on the PM’s statement earlier (see 9.48am )
double quotation mark I agree with the PM here: our focus as a Labour government must always be on the people we were elected to serve.
From Juliet Campbell, MP for Broxtowe
double quotation mark The Prime Minister should focus on getting on with the job to deliver the change the UK needs. We rightly criticised the Tories for plunging this country into chaos time and time again with endless leadership contests. Labour should not do the same.
And this is from Phil Brickell, MP for Bolton West.
Downing Street has released its readout from cabinet today. It does not refer at any point to the calls for Keir Starmer to quit. Instead it says ministers discussed the “contingency planning taking place to protect British people. businesses from the impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East” and it says ministers ended by looking ahead to the king’s speech and discussing “their ambition to build a stronger, fairer United Kingdom where families feel safer and better off”.
These are from my colleague Gaby Hinsliff on the fact. all three ministers who have resigned so far are women.
double quotation mark Miatta Fahnbulleh, Jess Phillips. Alex Davies Jones; so far all 3 ministerial resignations are women, 2 directly responsible for delivering on the manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls. There has been real simmering anger in the women’s PLP about not being listened to.
double quotation mark partly that was over Mandelson (& obv if Starmer gets through all this, there’s still the next release of Mandelson whatsapps/emails to come) & sense of a boys club in no 10. not entirely. It’s disappointment that the PM genuinely does care about VAWG, it’s not empy words, but can’t drive it.
double quotation mark meanwhile Reform make grim capital out of grooming gangs & sexual assaults by immigrants (oddly uninterested if not immigrants). So it matters on a life and limb level for women but also for social cohesion/fighting the far right. Harriet Harman appt was meant to reassure but too late
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