Keir Starmer appears to be on the brink of quitting – possibly as soon as tomorrow – as one of his Cabinet allies admitted the Prime Minister is facing up to ‘political realities’.
An ashen-faced Peter Kyle, the Business Secretary, did not dismiss a growing expectation that Sir Keir will announce as early as Monday that he is to leave Downing Street.
The PM is said to have reached the conclusion that his position is no longer tenable after talking to Cabinet colleagues, No 10 advisers, union leaders and key Labour donors.
Sources insisted Sir Keir, who is this weekend discussing his future with his wife, Victoria, at their country retreat Chequers, had yet to make a final decision.Â
Mr Kyle confirmed that Sir Keir was mulling ‘the political realities and challenges’ in the wake of Andy Burnham‘s thumping win in the Makerfield by-election, which has sparked renewed calls from Labour MPs for him to quit.
The PM is now under overwhelming pressure to set out a timetable for his departure and to make way for Mr Burnham in a possible coronation for the former Greater Manchester mayor.
During a series of TV interviews on Sunday morning, Mr Kyle said he was not ‘delusional that there is no process, there are no forces at work which are challenging the PM as leader – that is clearly the case’.
He also admitted he did not know ‘what the next few days will entail’ as Sir Keir decides whether to bring to an end his two-year premiership.
But while the PM considers his position, it is not yet known if Mr Burnham will succeed Sir Keir unchallenged or whether Labour MPs will insist on a full-blown leadership contest against a rival such as Wes Streeting.
As Britain prepares for a seventh PM since the Brexit referendum a decade ago:
Keir Starmer appears to be on the brink of quitting – possibly as soon as tomorrow – as one of his Cabinet allies admitted the Prime Minister is ‘reflecting’ on his positionÂ
Peter Kyle, the Business Secretary, did not knock back feverish reports that Sir Keir will announce as early as Monday that he is leaving Downing Street
Mr Kyle confirmed that Sir Keir was mulling ‘the political realities and challenges’ in the wake of Andy Burnham’s (pictured) thumping win in the Makerfield by-election
Quizzed about feverish reports the PM is planning to announce his resignation as soon as Monday, Mr Kyle told Sky News: ‘The only thing I can say with fact is that the Prime Minister is hard at work, as he is every day – he is one of the most hard-working people I’ve ever come across.
‘Today, as in every other day I have ever known Keir, he is out there working hard.
‘At the same time he is also trying to create the space where he can think and reflect on the political realities and challenges and the opportunities that lie before us.’
Asked if Sir Keir had now come to the conclusion that it is in the interests of the country for him to resign, Mr Kyle added:Â ‘All I know for fact is that he is engaging in conversations with a wide range of people, including myself.
‘He is, as well as working really hard over this weekend, I think he is making time to reflect on the political realities, challenges and opportunities that he finds himself in.
‘I think that is what people would expect him to be doing at this moment in time.’
Downing Street on Saturday night responded to the reports that Sir Keir is poised to quit by insisting the position was unchanged from Friday, when the PM vowed to fight on and said that he would not walk away from a leadership challenge.
Sir Keir said then: ‘If there is a contest, yes, I will run. I have said repeatedly I am not going to walk away from that.’
But, asked in a later TV interview if it was still true that Sir Keir would fight any challenge to his leadership, Mr Kyle would only say: ‘Well, he’s fighting for our country.
‘And today he is hard at work as he has been every day that I have known him as leader of the Labour Party and PM.
‘He is also making time this weekend to try and reflect on the political challenges that he faces, our country faces, our party faces.’
Pressed again on whether Sir Keir was still planning to fight a leadership challenge, Mr Kyle told the BBC: ‘These are decisions for Keir to make.
‘That’s why I said that he is taking the time – as well as dealing with all the issues that a PM deals with over a weekend, a very busy weekend – that he’s also taking the time to think through what the political realities are today compared to last week, the week before.
‘But I know that he is a PM who always put the country first and he will be framing every decision he makes today on behalf of the country in his day-to-day job as PM, but also when he thinks about the party going forward, it will always be about what’s in the best interests of the country.’
Mr Kyle admitted there was ‘clearly political uncertainty’ when quizzed about whether Sir Keir is thinking about setting out a timetable for handing over power to Mr Burnham.
He added that the Government would make sure that ‘whatever unfolds’ in the coming days will be a ‘functional process’ whereby the Labour Party puts the ‘interests of the country first and foremost’.
‘Now, I can’t predict the future,’ he added. ‘I don’t know what’s going to unfold in the days that lie ahead.
‘I don’t know the decisions that he will make on behalf of our country as he considers these issues, and then makes decisions.
‘But we will find a way for this to be whatever unfolds, a functional process, one where the Labour Party is seen to put the interests of the country first and foremost, and we will carry on delivering for this country through whatever does unfold in the days ahead.
‘That’s because Keir demands it.’
Sources insisted Sir Keir, who is this weekend discussing his future with his wife Victoria at their country retreat Chequers, had yet to make a final decision
It is not yet known if Mr Burnham will succeed Sir Keir unchallenged or whether Labour MPs will insist on a full-blown leadership contest against a rival such as Wes Streeting (pictured)
It is expected that Rachel Reeves will lose her job as Chancellor if Mr Burnham succeeds Sir Keir
Mr Kyle is a close friend of Mr Streeting, the former health secretary, and he appeared to back Labour members having a say on who their new party leader is through a leadership contest, despite calls from a large number of MPs for Mr Burnham to succeed Sir Keir without a full contest.
‘My approach to this has always been that contests are better wherever possible,’ Nr Kyle said.
‘That needs to be balanced with the needs of maintaining authority of a party through any processes that may unfold.’
The Business Secretary also said Mr Burnham had ‘the qualities’ to enter Downing Street as Sir Keir’s replacement.
‘There’s lots of people out there who have the qualifications, temperament and the qualities to become prime minister,’ he added.
‘I think Andy Burnham could be one of those people.’
Mr Kyle told Times Radio that Mr Burnham is a ‘remarkable figure’, adding: ‘I certainly pay tribute to his victory in Makefield. That was a quite an astonishing result.’
As he spent Sunday at Chequers considering his premiership, Sir Keir took the time to post on social media about Father’s Day.
He wrote on X: ‘Being a dad is my greatest joy. Today, I’m thinking about my dad, and the father I am to my children because of him. Happy Father’s Day.’
A Labour peer claimed the PM would not ‘walk away’ from Downing Street and create a political vacuum. Instead, he would ‘arrange a slow march as a matter of duty and dignity’.
Mr Burnham, who trounced Reform UK at last week’s by-election in the Greater Manchester seat, will be sworn in as an MP tomorrow.
Sir Keir is under pressure to make his intentions clear before Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. Another Labour grandee said: ‘He’s come up hard against the reality that the support isn’t there.
‘The truth is everyone knows this is no longer a tenable proposition. There’s a sadness about it all, but sometimes there’s just an inevitability in politics.’
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander are among those Cabinet ministers who are said to have told Sir Keir his time is up.
It is expected that Rachel Reeves will lose her job as Chancellor if Mr Burnham succeeds Sir Keir, with Mr Miliband, Mr Streeting, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, and John Healey, the former defence secretary, all touted as possible replacements in the Treasury.
Mel Stride, the Tory shadow chancellor, said there was ‘no evidence’ that Mr Burnham could change the ‘high tax, high borrowing’ instincts of Labour MPs.
He told the BBC that Britain needs ‘stability’ and the right policies, and the Labour Party in Parliament has ‘high taxes, high borrowing in their DNA’.
He said: ‘I think the concern that I have is, in terms of what is good for the country, even if we have a change of PM now, and that looks increasingly likely – what is going to follow?
‘Is that going to change the fundamental nature of the Labour Party in Parliament? No, of course it isn’t.’
Sir Mel also criticised Mr Burnham as a politician prone to ‘flip flopping’ on ‘unfunded commitments’, adding:Â ‘My concern about Andy Burnham is the flip flopping.
‘My concern about Andy Burnham is that he does not seem to know what the fiscal rules are.
‘You have seen some of the market reaction, the bond market reaction, to Andy Burnham which is to increase our borrowing costs – that is higher costs for people with their mortgages and businesses, borrowing costs, and so on – plus a lot of what appeared to be unfunded commitments, that he puts out there and then resiles from later when somebody tells them that it all just does not add up.
‘None of that, I’m afraid, fills me with any confidence.’
