Keir Starmer under pressure to agree exit plan after election mauling

Keir Starmer is under pressure to set out a timeline for his departure after a crushing defeat in elections across Britain prompted senior Labour MPs to call for him to step down within a year. In a disastrous set of results, Labour lost hundreds of council seats in England, many to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which made big gains across the Midlands and the north as well as taking seats from the Tories in the South. After more than a century of domination, Labour was also expecting a near-wipeout in Wales, where the party’s first minister, Eluned Morgan, lost her seat. Labour could slump to third place in Scotland behind the SNP and Reform. While the prime minister appeared to have avoided an immediate coup, there was a furious response to the results among senior MPs and the unions, with some warning him to change course or risk electoral oblivion. Louise Haigh, a former cabinet minister and co-chair of the powerful Tribune group of MPs, was the first to break cover. “What is abundantly clear is that unless the government delivers significant and urgent change, then the prime minister cannot lead us into another election,” she said. One senior backbencher said: “We want Keir to agree a timetable for his departure, but we want it to be dignified. He should have his last conference this autumn and then oversee a leadership contest straight after. He can’t take us into next year’s locals. …