Government meeting could decide Starmer's future

TT

Published 08.32

TV cameras stand ready in the rain at the Prime Minister's Downing Street in London on Monday. Photo: Alberto Pezzali/AP/TT

Keir Starmer is now extremely loose as British Prime Minister. Several ministers are reported to be advising him to resign, and a cabinet meeting is being held this morning that could be decisive.

British media reports that Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, among others, have tried to get Starmer to step down. And that over 70 of the Labour Party's 403 members of the House of Commons want him to quit.

Among the reasons is Britain's economic woes after Brexit, which has created discontent that reached a kind of climax with a disastrous result in last week's local elections.

However, Labour has stricter rules than the right-wing Tories for changing leaders. At least 81 members of the House of Commons must agree on a common challenger, and that person must then gather the most support in a formal party leadership election.