Keir Starmer’s leadership on line after Labour’s disastrous election night

Hartlepool once nearly triggered Keir Starmer’s resignation; local election results overnight mean it may yet do so in the coming days. Five years ago, Labour crashed to a humiliating defeat in a byelection for the city’s Westminster seat, prompting Starmer to consider resigning as opposition leader. On Thursday night, the party lost every single council seat it was contesting in the town to Reform UK , putting Starmer’s leadership in question once more. The local Labour MP, Jonathan Brash, told the Guardian on Thursday night: “I think the very best thing the prime minister could do now is address the nation tomorrow and set out a timetable for his departure. “We can then have an orderly transition, one that, by the way, ensures the full breadth of talent within the Labour party is able to stand should it want to.” In Downing Street, where extra advisers have reportedly been brought in to help the prime minister survive the next few days, officials will be watching carefully to see if others follow Brash’s lead. On Friday morning, most senior Labour MPs were keeping their powder dry after David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, urged colleagues to remain loyal. “You don’t change the pilot during a flight,” he said on Thursday night. “You carry on and you recognise too that governments sometimes, particularly incumbent governments, have it hard, but of course we will reflect on what we’re hearing from the electorate. …