Four ministerial aides quit as they call for Starmer to resign

"Four ministerial aides have resigned over Sir Keir Starmer's leadership, as over 60 Labour MPs call for him to stand down. Joe Morris quit his role as PPS to Health Secretary Wes Streeting - a potential leadership contender - saying the prime minister "no longer has the trust or confidence of the public". Melanie Ward, aide to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, has become the latest Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to quit, following Naushabah Khan, PPS to Cabinet Office Minister Darren Jones, and Tom Rutland, PPS to Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds."

"As the numbers of resignations built up on Monday evening, the pressure on Sir Keir will become more intense. Meanwhile, Sally Jameson, PPS to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, has joined calls for Sir Keir to set out a timetable for his departure. There are over 60 MPs who 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". But pressure for him to go intensified through the day, building on calls for a timetable for his resignation from supporters of Andy Burnham. Calls began to come from the right of the party - and so far four resignations of ministerial aides. 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"

Four ministerial aides resigned over Keir Starmer’s leadership, including Joe Morris as PPS to Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Melanie Ward as PPS to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy. Other resignations included Naushabah Khan and Tom Rutland. Sally Jameson joined calls for Starmer to set out a timetable for departure. More than 60 Labour MPs urged Starmer to resign immediately or provide a timetable. Starmer insisted he would not quit, acknowledged government mistakes, and said he had made the right big political choices. Pressure intensified after Labour lost nearly 1,500 councillors in England, with Reform UK and the Greens gaining support, and after setbacks in Wales and Scotland.

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