Halesowen MP Alex Ballinger has become the first Labour MP whose constituency covers wards in Dudley borough to call for Sir Keir Starmer to quit following a disastrous set of local election results for the party. Ballinger added his voice to around 70 Labour backbenchers reacting to the poor performance by saying it is time for the Prime Minister to stand down.
A speech by Starmer on May 11 designed to reassure jittery Labour MPs failed to impress Ballinger, who shared his frustration on the social media platform X. He stated: "I like the Prime Minister, he is a good and decent man. But it's clear from countless doorstep conversations that my constituents have lost confidence in him. Disastrous local election results across the Black Country only confirm this. I fear that if we continue on this course we risk handing the country to the far right. For that reason, I support a transition to a new leader, one who will be bolder, and one who can better articulate how Labour is changing our country for the better."
Dudley Council Elections
In Dudley, where 25 of the council's 72 seats were up for grabs, only Councillor Adeela Qayyum won for Labour, while Reform UK ousted eight Labour councillors in a night of drama that echoed results from around the UK where the party lost around 1,100 councillors.
Stourbridge MP Reacts
Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles also released a statement calling for a "serious change of direction" rather than "cosmetic resets or better messaging," with the condition that if the PM could not deliver change quickly, he should make way for a new leader. Reacting to Starmer's make-or-break speech, when he announced the renationalisation of British Steel, Eccles said: "The announcement on British Steel was good but other than that we didn't hear anything new or bold. I'll await the King's speech on Wednesday."
Conservative Perspective
The Conservative Party also suffered significant losses on election night. In Dudley borough, they are represented by Mike Wood, MP for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire. While Wood believes the PM's time is up, he does not think a new leader will solve Labour's problems. Wood said: "It's hard to see how he stays. Voters are clearly long past the point of believing that he can deliver for them, and now it's only the most career-focused of Labour backbenchers who are prepared to go out to bat for him. Sadly I am not sure that replacing Starmer will make a huge difference. All of the main contenders to replace him have been cheering him on over the past two years – the policies if not necessarily the communications or style – and so it's hard to see any of them taking a radically different approach to the challenges facing the country. The King will read out the legislative programme tomorrow morning. It will be Starmer's programme and it is unlikely that any replacement PM will deviate significantly from what is announced."
Cabinet Meeting
This morning, at the beginning of a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street, the Prime Minister said no official triggering of a leadership challenge had taken place, and he would continue governing. His statement followed the resignation of several government junior ministers and the resignation of Miatta Fahnbulleh, Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities.
