A Labour MP as soon as thought-about to be shut ally of Keir Starmer has referred to as for him to resign as prime minister.
Josh Simons, the Labour MP for Makerfield, has written an article for the Instances newspaper expressing his view that Starmer ought to oversee an “orderly transition to a brand new prime minister”.
Simons was director of the Labour Collectively suppose tank earlier than getting into parliament. The group, related to former Downing Road chief of workers Morgan McSweeney, was distinguished in supporting Starmer’s rise to energy.
Simons was one of many first MPs that entered parliament on the 2024 basic election appointed to a ministerial publish. Nevertheless, he resigned as a junior minister serving collectively within the Cupboard Workplace and Division for Science, Innovation and Expertise in February 2026. He stepped after going through claims that Labour Collectively commissioned a report that appeared into journalists’ backgrounds.
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In his Instances article, Simons wrote: “When a celebration fears the folks it was created to symbolize, it’s marching in direction of extinction…
“These elections weren’t a standard mid-term drubbing, they had been an unequivocal judgment that our actions don’t meet the second. We consistently discuss massive, then act small.”
He added: “Placing the folks I symbolize and the nation I like first, I don’t consider the prime minister can rise to this second. He has misplaced the nation. He ought to take management of the state of affairs by overseeing an orderly transition to a brand new prime minister.”
Simons shared the article in a publish to Twitter (previously X) alongside further feedback.
He acknowledged: “This was not a straightforward piece to put in writing. However due to my historical past within the Labour Social gathering I felt an obligation to be trustworthy.
“We Labour MPs should sq. as much as the reality. These elections weren’t a standard mid-term drubbing, they had been an unequivocal judgement that our actions don’t meet the second.
“To place the nation first, the PM ought to lead an orderly transition. Senior figures throughout the celebration ought to urgently come collectively to agree a path ahead.”
Simons’ intervention comes after a fellow former Labour minister, Catherine West, threatened to launch a “stalking horse” problem to the prime minister.
On Saturday afternoon, West referred to as on the cupboard to “reorganise themselves” and put ahead their “finest communicator” to exchange Starmer. Talking to BBC Information within the wake of this week’s elections, the Labour MP and former Overseas Workplace stated she was placing senior ministers “on discover”.
West stated: “My most popular choice is for the cupboard to do a reshuffle inside itself, the place there’s loads of expertise, and for Keir to be given a special function, which he may take pleasure in, maybe a world function.”
West sought to justify her proposal throughout as Sunday morning media spherical.
West instructed the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I’ll hear what the prime minister’s received to say tomorrow and, then if I’m nonetheless dissatisfied, I’ll put out my e-mail to the parliamentary Labour Social gathering, asking for names. And the rationale I’m doing that’s not for me. It’s for working folks, as a result of Labour is the one celebration that may beat Reform.”
West was requested if she believes that she is going to get the requisite variety of MPs – 81 – to mount a management problem.
She responded: “We are going to discover out after I put out my e-mail to the Parliamentary Labour Social gathering, however what we want is that timetable from the chair of the celebration, and he or she and I are excellent associates, she is aware of, I’ve requested her for an orderly transition right into a management election, which is able to permit us to make the case to the nation, in addition to to our colleagues, in order that we are able to go ahead.”
