Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to lead Labour into the next general election and said closer ties with Europe will be at the heart of his response to disastrous local election results as one of his own MPs told cabinet ministers to challenge him in a leadership contest by Monday, warning that if they fail to do so, she will.
Catherine West MP said the cabinet should “reorganise themselves” and, to avoid a contest, put forward their “best communicator” to replace the prime minister.
She told The Independent: “We need to tool up for this, because it’s going to be the fight of our life. We need to take on Reform and put forward a centrist vision of the country that people can really get behind.”
The prime minister told the Sunday Mirror that he would be “full-throated” about the need for closer ties with Brussels and said he would attempt to continue with his 10-year project of “national renewal”, vowing not to walk away.
Local election results on Saturday underlined the challenge facing Sir Keir, with Reform taking control in Barnsley and pushing Labour out of office in Bradford while a Green surge took Lewisham and forced Labour out in Lambeth for the first time in 20 years.
Read MoreStarmer turns back to attacking Brexit as he shares fightback plan after election rout
The towns and cities that show politics in England is splintering from two-party system
Labour MP issues leadership threat to Starmer, telling Cabinet ministers to ‘get yourself in there’
Key Points
- Labour MP calls for cabinet members to challenge Starmer's leadership
- Starmer gathers allies to see off Labour MP's leadership threat
- Analysis: Results show stark differences between London and elsewhere
- Ed Miliband urged by Labour MPs to consider leadership bid
- John Rentoul: Angela Rayner has missed her chance
Results reveal stark differences in voting between London and rest of England
08:13 , Amy-Clare MartinThe election results have revealed stark differences in how the parties fared in the capital compared with the rest of England.
Labour successfully defended a higher percentage of its seats than it did elsewhere, while Reform UK won a much lower proportion of seats in which it stood candidates than it managed outside London, according to Press Association analysis.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party has won 67 per cent of the council seats in the capital that it held just before the elections took place.
This compares with a win rate of 30 per cent for seats it defended outside London.
Reform has won just 5 per cent of the seats in the capital in which it fielded candidates, compared with a rate of 43 per cent for the seats it contested across the rest of England.
Other parties have seen contrasting fortunes inside and outside the capital, with the Greens winning 19 per cent of seats in London, in which it stood candidates, higher than the 10% it managed in the rest of England.
The Conservatives won 46 per cent of the seats they defended outside London, while the party saw a net increase of 6 per cent in its number of councillors in the capital compared with just before polling day.
How many supporters does Catherine West need to trigger leadership vote?
07:37 , Adam WithnallLabour MP Catherine West has called on members of Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet to challenge him for the leadership, warning that she will do so herself if they fail to step up.
She told The Independent that the party needs “to take on Reform and put forward a centrist vision of the country that people can really get behind”.
Labour Party rules state that a leadership election will only take place if the prime minister resigns or if 20 per cent of the party nominate a candidate to replace them.
That means 81 MPs would need to back a challenger. West has said she will seek another 80 names to trigger a contest if no one from the cabinet does so.
But as of now, West says she has only 10 MPs willing to back her. She has nonetheless said she is "confident" others will come forward if needed.
The youth vote isn’t just turning out for the Greens
06:50 , Adam WithnallChloe Combi has been speaking to young people in the aftermath of Thursday’s election. She writes that she works with this generation every day, and struggles to find one young adult who thinks the current political system has made even one meaningful and positive change in their lives.
Out of this desperation, a hunger for an alternative is growing, she says. There was an early assumption that Zach Polanski’s Green Party was going to “do a Zohran Mamdani” in the 2026 council elections and the hysterical portrayal of the leader in some quarters of the press as a kind of political bogeyman was telling. But, while the Greens made some significant gains, it’s how this generation is relating to Farage’s party that is just as telling.
Read more:
The youth vote isn’t just Green – they are turning up for Farage’s Reform too
Analysis: Results show stark differences between London and elsewhere
05:40 , Adam WithnallThe results of this year’s local election in London have sent historical records tumbling, while revealing stark differences in how the parties fared in the capital compared with the rest of England.
Labour successfully defended a higher percentage of its seats than it did elsewhere, while Reform UK won a much lower proportion of seats in which it stood candidates than it managed outside London, according to Press Association analysis.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party has won 67% of the council seats in the capital that it held just before the elections took place.
This compares with a win rate of 30% for seats it defended outside London.
Reform has won just 5% of the seats in the capital in which it fielded candidates, compared with a rate of 43% for the seats it contested across the rest of England.
Other parties have seen contrasting fortunes inside and outside the capital, with the Greens winning 19% of seats in London, in which it stood candidates, higher than the 10% it managed in the rest of England.
The Conservatives won 46% of the seats they defended outside London, while the party saw a net increase of 6% in its number of councillors in the capital compared with just before polling day.
The results show clearly how people in the capital voted for a wider range of parties than ever before, with nearly four in 10 council seats (39.3%) won by someone other than Labour or the Conservatives.
Starmer gathers allies to see off Labour MP's leadership threat
03:53 , Adam WithnallAs Catherine West urged would-be leaders in the cabinet to challenge Sir Keir Starmer by Monday, Sir Keir recruited party veterans Gordon Brown and Baroness Harriet Harman to help to secure his flagging premiership.
The Independent has also learnt that some senior ministers were trying to prevent a leadership election but feared that the former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner could launch a coup as early as next week. Meanwhile, support is growing for energy secretary Ed Miliband, health secretary Wes Streeting and defence minister Al Carns.
Read more here:
Labour MP issues leadership threat to Starmer after election misery
Recap: Labour MP calls for cabinet members to challenge Starmer's leadership
03:00 , Daniel HaygarthA Labour MP has urged would-be leaders in the cabinet to challenge Sir Keir Starmer by Monday – or she will – following the party’s disastrous local election results.
Catherine West, the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, who was sacked by Sir Keir as a junior minister in the Foreign Office, said the cabinet should “reorganise themselves” and, to avoid a contest, put forward their “best communicator” to replace the prime minister. If that did not happen she would seek the 80 names needed to trigger a contest, she said.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms West said: “We had cataclysmic election results last week and our response so far does not match the emergency that faces us. I am terrified we will end up with prime minister Farage.”
The towns and cities that show politics in England is splintering from two-party system
02:30 , Dan HaygarthThe outcome of these elections provides more evidence of a country pulling away from a traditional two-party system, with strong support coming in for other parties, at least at local elections so far. Here are some of the towns and cities that highlight the trend:
The towns and cities showing politics in England is splintering from two-party system
John Rentoul: Angela Rayner has missed her chance
01:30 , Dan HaygarthKeir Starmer’s premiership is teetering on the brink, but his rivals cannot give him the final push, writes John Rentoul. Read below.
Angela Rayner has missed her chance
Watch: Gordon Brown and Baroness Harman leave No10 after meeting with Keir Starmer
Sunday 10 May 2026 00:30 , Dan HaygarthFull story: Starmer turns to attacking Brexit again as he shares fightback plan to save his job
Saturday 9 May 2026 23:55 , Dan Haygarth
Starmer turns to attacking Brexit again as he shares fightback plan to save his job
London voting for wider range of parties than ever before
Saturday 9 May 2026 23:08 , Dan HaygarthThe results show clearly how people in the capital voted for a wider range of parties than ever before, with nearly four in 10 council seats (39.3 per cent) won by someone other than Labour or the Conservatives.
This is more than double the equivalent figure at the 2022 local elections (14.1 per cent) and is the highest percentage of seats not won by either Labour or the Tories in the modern history of local government in London, which began when the current system of councils was established in 1964.
Of the 1,817 seats up for grabs in the capital this year, the Greens won 16.3 per cent, the Liberal Democrats 13.4 per cent, Reform 4.3 per cent and Aspire 1.8 per cent.
Labour won 38.3 per cent, down from 63.6 per cent in 2022 and its lowest figure since 2006 (36.8 per cent).
The Conservatives won 22.4 per cent, up very slightly from 22.2 per cent in 2022.
Election results show stark differences between London and rest of England
Saturday 9 May 2026 23:06 , Dan HaygarthThe results of this year’s local election in London have sent historical records tumbling, while revealing stark differences in how the parties fared in the capital compared with the rest of England.
Labour successfully defended a higher percentage of its seats than it did elsewhere, while Reform UK won a much lower proportion of seats in which it stood candidates than it managed outside London, according to Press Association analysis.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party has won 67 per cent of the council seats in the capital that it held just before the elections took place.
This compares with a win rate of 30 per cent for seats it defended outside London.
Reform has won just 5 per cent of the seats in the capital in which it fielded candidates, compared with a rate of 43 per cent for the seats it contested across the rest of England.
Other parties have seen contrasting fortunes inside and outside the capital, with the Greens winning 19 per cent of seats in London, in which it stood candidates, higher than the 10 per cent it managed in the rest of England.
The Conservatives won 46 per cent of the seats they defended outside London, while the party saw a net increase of 6 per cent in its number of councillors in the capital compared with just before polling day.
Full story: Starmer turns to attacking Brexit again as he shares fightback plan to save his job
Saturday 9 May 2026 22:25 , Dan HaygarthKeir Starmer took aim at Brexit and said forging closer ties with Europe will be at the heart of his response to Labour’s dismal showing in the local elections, as he vowed to lead the party into the next general election.
Read more below.
Starmer turns to attacking Brexit again as he shares fightback plan to save his job
Nine London councils with no majority, eight of them previously Labour-ran
Saturday 9 May 2026 22:17 , Dan HaygarthMore councils in London have been left in no overall control than at any point since the current system of local government in the capital was established in 1964.
There are nine London councils where no party won enough seats to form a majority.
Eight of them were previously controlled by Labour – Barnet, Brent, Enfield, Haringey, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark, Wandsworth – while one, Croydon, remains in no overall control.
The previous record for the most number of London councils left in no overall control after local elections was eight, set in 2006.
Labour had better performance in London than the rest of England at local elections
Saturday 9 May 2026 21:23 , Dan HaygarthWith all results in London now declared, Labour has successfully defended a higher percentage of its seats in the capital than it did in the rest of England, while Reform UK won a lower proportion of seats it contested than elsewhere, according to Press Association analysis.
Labour won 67 per cent of the council seats in London it held just before the elections took place.
This compares with a win rate of 30 per cent for seats the party was defending outside London.
Reform won just 5 per cent of the seats in London in which it fielded candidates, compared with 43 per cent of the seats it contested elsewhere in England.
The Greens won 19 per cent of seats in London in which it stood candidates, higher than the 10 per cent it managed outside the capital.
The Conservatives won 46 per cent of seats they were defending outside London, while by contrast, the party has seen a net increase of 6 per cent in its number of councillors in the capital.
MP warns Labour has ‘fight of our life’ to stop Farage as she issues ultimatum to replace Starmer
Saturday 9 May 2026 21:17 , David MaddoxA Labour MP has told cabinet ministers to challenge Sir Keir Starmer in a leadership contest by Monday, warning that if they fail to do so, she will.
Catherine West, the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, who was sacked by Sir Keir as a junior minister in the Foreign Office, said the cabinet should “reorganise themselves” and, to avoid a contest, put forward their “best communicator” to replace the prime minister.
If that did not happen she would seek the 80 names needed to trigger a contest, she said.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms West said: “We had cataclysmic election results last week and our response so far does not match the emergency that faces us. I am terrified we will end up with Prime Minister Farage.”
Her intervention came after Sir Keir recruited party veterans Gordon Brown and Baroness Harriet Harman to help to secure his flagging premiership.
As the scale of Labour’s failures at the local elections ballot box emerged, The Independent has also learnt that some senior ministers were trying to prevent a leadership election but feared that the former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner could launch a coup as early as next week. Meanwhile, support is growing for energy secretary Ed Miliband, health secretary Wes Streeting and defence minister Al Carns.
Ms West’s move follows speculation by Labour MPs that the serious candidates to replace Sir Keir, including Ms Rayner and Mr Streeting, were awaiting “a stalking horse” to “allow them to swoop in”. Speaking to The Independent, she said she would welcome Mr Streeting, Mr Miliband, Ms Rayner or education secretary Bridget Phillipson taking over as leader and prime minister. But she warned that time was running out for Labour with an election two to three years away.
“We need to tool up for this, because it’s going to be the fight of our life. We need to take on Reform and put forward a centrist vision of the country that people can really get behind.”
Read more:
Starmer gives ‘full-throated’ backing for closer EU ties as he fights for job
Saturday 9 May 2026 21:15 , Dan HaygarthSir Keir Starmer has put measures to tackle the cost of living and forge closer ties with the European Union at the heart of his plan to revive Labour’s fortunes after a disastrous set of elections.
The prime minister is battling to save his job, with a Labour MP plotting to launch a leadership challenge on Monday in the hope of spurring his Cabinet to move to oust him.
But despite mounting pressure to quit, Sir Keir insisted he would lead Labour into the next general election to continue with his 10-year project of “national renewal”.
The Prime Minister will use an address on Monday and the King’s Speech on Wednesday to mount a fightback after growing numbers of Labour MPs demanded a change at the top of the party.
In a Mirror interview, Sir Keir promised to be “full-throated” about the need for closer ties with Brussels as he sought to win back his wavering MPs and address the drift of voters from Labour to the Greens in many former strongholds in London and cities across England.
In an apparent attempt to address the concerns of voters who felt left behind, Sir Keir promised “an economy that really works for everyone, wherever they live”.
Watch: Labour MP calls for cabinet members to challenge Starmer's leadership
Saturday 9 May 2026 20:45 , Dan HaygarthMP warns Labour has ‘fight of our life’ to stop Farage as she issues ultimatum to replace Starmer
Saturday 9 May 2026 20:15 , Dan HaygarthA Labour MP has dramatically warned would-be leaders in the cabinet to challenge Sir Keir Starmer by Monday – or she will - following the party’s disastrous local election results.
Catherine West, the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, who was sacked by Sir Keir as a junior minister in the Foreign Office, said the cabinet should “reorganise themselves” and put forward their “best communicator” to replace the PM, avoiding a contest.
If that did not happen she would seek the 80 names needed to trigger a contest, she said.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms West said: “We had cataclysmic election results last week and our response so far does not match the emergency that faces us.”
She added: “I am terrified we will end up with Prime Minister Farage.”
Read more:
Starmer faces ‘stalking horse’ challenger as ministers fear Angela Rayner coup
Greens win Lewisham
Saturday 9 May 2026 19:52 , Dan HaygarthThe Greens have toppled a huge Labour majority in Lewisham to take control of their third London council.
The party won a majority by winning 30 of the first 39 results to be announced, with Labour taking just nine.
The successful Green candidates included Liam Shrivastava in Crofton Park Ward, although he will give up his council seat after winning the Lewisham mayoral election on Friday.
Labour had 50 seats on the previous council and the Greens only four, and Lewisham became the 12th London council where Sir Keir Starmer’s party lost control, with Hackney and Waltham Forest also being taken by the Greens.
The Conservatives won Westminster, while Barnet, Brent, Enfield, Haringey, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark and Wandsworth all slipped into no overall control.
Ed Miliband urged by Labour MPs to consider leadership bid - report
Saturday 9 May 2026 19:28 , Alex RossAfter former junior minister Catherine West issued her ultimatum to Cabinet members to come out against Sir Keir Starmer on Saturday night, one name has emerged in reports as a possible challenger.
Ms West said if no cabinet members went public by Monday, she would launch a leadership challenge.
Tonight, The Guardian is reporting that MPs from Labour’s left are expected to urge Ed Miliban to consider a leadership bid in the coming days.
The newspaper says MPs would rather the energy secretary to step in than hold out for Andy Burnham, who would need to wait for a by-election to mount a challenge.
Angela Rayner does not have the necessary support, the MPs believe, according to the newspaper.
Analysis: Farage tears apart Starmer’s red wall brick by brick as Labour heartlands decimated
Saturday 9 May 2026 19:00 , Dan Haygarth
Farage tears apart Starmer’s red wall brick by brick as Labour heartlands decimated
How would a Labour leadership challenge work?
Saturday 9 May 2026 18:56 , Dan HaygarthThere is no formal confidence vote procedure to oust a Labour leader.
Any challenger to Sir Keir Starmer would instead require the support of 81 MPs – 20 per cent of the party in the Commons – to trigger a contest.
Written nominations would need to be submitted to Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley.
In the case of a successful challenge, Sir Keir would be on the ballot by default as the incumbent and would not need to gather nominations.
If Sir Keir were to resign, it would automatically start a contest for a new leader.
It is up to the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee to set the timeline for a leadership election.
Aspire wins in Tower Hamlets
Saturday 9 May 2026 18:49 , Dan HaygarthAspire has won the Tower Hamlets council election to secure an overall majority in the only London borough where it stands.
The party secured 23 of the first 31 seats to be declared, enough to take back control.
Aspire won 24 seats in the last council election in 2022, but later lost two to defections.
Labour has won four seats, the Greens two and the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives one each.
Aspire leader Lutfur Rahman was re-elected as Tower Hamlets mayor on Friday with almost 39 per cent of the votes.
Full story: Do Reform or the Greens pose the biggest threat to Labour? Here’s what the numbers say
Saturday 9 May 2026 18:35 , Dan Haygarth
Which party poses the biggest threat to Labour? Here’s what the numbers say
Cabinet minister 'cautions colleagues' against West’s proposal
Saturday 9 May 2026 18:31 , Dan HaygarthCabinet minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has “cautioned colleagues” against Catherine West’s demands.
He told the BBC: “We’ve seen over the past 10 years now what happens when a party in government just starts chopping and changing leaders.”
“It just generates instability and it militates against a focus on delivery.”
“I'm confident going forward that Keir Starmer is the best prime minister for our country”, he added.
Analysis: Al Carns did not want to be the 'stalking horse' opening the door for others
Saturday 9 May 2026 18:25 , Dan Haygarth & David MaddoxBefore Catherine West told cabinet ministers to challenge the prime minister in a leadership contest by Monday, warning that if they fail to do so, she will, there had been some looking to defence minister Al Carns, a former Royal Marines commander, to be the stalking horse, running to test the waters.
The problem there was that Mr Carns thinks he can win and did not want to just open the door for others to have a go.
Mr Carns has been MP for Birmingham Selly Oak since 2024.
After the dismal local election results for his party, Mr Carns wrote on X: “The answer is not more noise or easy answers. It’s having the courage to take difficult decisions, deliver properly, rebuild a country that is secure and resilient.
“To all the Labour team, tough times don’t last, tough people do. Stay focused, keep moving forward and keep delivering.
“The aim is to lay your head on your pillow in three years and be confident that we did everything in our power to make the United Kingdom the best it possibly can be.”
Analysis: How a Tory MP 37 years ago has inspired a Labour MP’s ‘stalking horse’ leadership challenge to Starmer
Saturday 9 May 2026 18:16 , Dan HaygarthPolitical editor David Maddox looks at how Sir Anthony Meyer’s challenge to Margaret Thatcher in 1989 is now being played out in 2026 by Catherine West’s bid to oust Sir Keir Starmer.
How a Tory MP 37 years ago has inspired an MP’s ‘stalking horse’ challenge to Starmer
Starmer loyalists call for stability after Labour MP’s leadership threat
Saturday 9 May 2026 18:05 , Athena StavrouLabour MPs and ministers loyal to Sir Keir Starmer have hit out at Catherine West’s threat to trigger a leadership challenge on Monday.
The prime minister is under immense pressure to resign following Labour’s electoral losses, with over 30 of his own MPs publicly calling for him to go.
In the firmest threat so far, Labour MP Catherine West has told cabinet ministers to challenge the prime minister in a leadership contest by Monday, warning that if they fail to do so, she will.
Responding to this, Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill hit out at the intervention as “internal theatrics”.
“With respect to Catherine West, leadership contests and public ultimatums are not what the country needs right now,” she wrote on X.
"The public expects government to govern, not endless internal theatrics. The priority should be getting on with the job the British people elected Labour to do."
Meanwhile, Home Office minister Mike Tapp said "stability is key" and wrote: “When those within your own walls begin dismantling the gate, the enemy no longer needs a battering ram. Reform love this"
Watch: John Healey says 'national sentiment' played big part in Labour losses
Saturday 9 May 2026 18:00 , Nicole Wootton-CaneHow can an MP can launch a leadership challenge?
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:59 , Harriette BoucherEach political party has their own set of rules when it comes to ousting a leader.
Unlike the Tories, there is no formal role for a vote of no confidence as part of the process of a leadership challenge for Labour.
A Labour leadership election can only be triggered if the leader resigns, or if 20 per cent of MPs nominate a challenger.
This would require Catherine West to get 81 people to back her in her nominating a single person.
Ms West said she does not have a candidate yet, but says “there are several people who would like to do it, who have been planning for months”.
The challenger has to be member of parliament, which would exclude Andy Burnham from being nominated.
If Keir Starmer was to be challenged, he would not require any nominations, and would automatically be on the ballot paper.
Labour Party members and affiliated supporters are eligible to vote.
Labour MP: Change cannot come soon enough
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:53 , Athena StavrouMinutes after Labour MP Catherine West said she would launch a leadership bid if a cabinet minister did not do so by Monday, yet another one of her colleagues publicly criticised the Sir Keir Starmer's government.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy took to social media to say “change cannot come soon enough”, after the party suffered devastating defeats across the country in local elections.
The Clapham & Brixton Hill MP said the results are a “disaster for our party on both a local and national level.
“The government's current strategy is holding the door open for a Reform government and electoral oblivion in Labour heartlands up and down the country,” she wrote on X.
“Change cannot come soon enough”.
Watch: Labour MP calls for cabinet members to challenge Starmer's leadership
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:34 , Harriette BoucherThe records broken in historic local elections that rocked Labour as Reform surges
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneThis week’s local elections across England, Scotland, and Wales have delivered a seismic shift in the political landscape, shattering decades-long majorities for traditional parties and ushering in new forces.
The results mark a historic moment, with established power bases crumbling and new records set, particularly for Reform and the Green Party.
Labour, in particular, faced significant setbacks in its traditional heartlands. Councils in Gateshead, Sunderland, and Wakefield, which had been under continuous Labour control since their formation in 1973, saw Reform win enough seats to take full control.
You can read all of the records broken below:
The records broken in historic local elections that rocked Labour as Reform surges
Croydon stays under no overall control
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:29 , Harriette BoucherCroydon has remained under no overall control after both Labour and Conservatives failed to win the London borough.
Labour won 30 seats and Conservatives 27, both short of the 36 needed for a majority.
Labour came into the election with 34 seats and Conservatives on 33, but the Greens made gains and ended with eight, while two Reform UK and two Liberal Democrat candidates were elected.
Who is Catherine West? The Labour MP trying to oust Starmer
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:21 , Harriette BoucherCatherine West has just given cabinet ministers a two-day deadline to challenge the prime minister in a leadership contest.
If they fail to do so, the Labour MP says she will do it herself.
Earlier today, Ms West called for Keir Starmer’s resignation, saying “I firmly believe that Keir should outline his intention to resign as prime minister.”
Ms West has been the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, previously Hornsey and Wood Green, since 2015.
She now sits as a member of the treasury select committee and is the UK’s trade envoy to Pakistan.
Formerly, she has held the roles of junior foreign office minister and held shadow minister roles for Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Americas, and Sport.
In 2022, she received the Patchwork Foundation’s MP of the Year award for her work with diverse communities underrepresented in public life.
She was also awarded Local Government Leader of the Year Award by her peers in 2012.
MP will challenge Starmer in leadership contest if cabinet minister fails to by Monday
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:03 , Athena StavrouA former minister has declared she will seek to challenge Sir Keir Starmer in a leadership contest if a cabinet minister does not do so by Monday.
Labour MP Catherine West set the deadline as she warned she was putting the cabinet “on notice” to “reorganise themselves”.
She told the BBC she currently has 10 people prepared to back her in a leadership bid, but is “confident” she can secure the 81 needed to trigger a contest.
“My preferred option is for the cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there's plenty of talent, and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role,” she said.
“Then for others to come to the fore who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss.”
Breaking: Labour MP threatens to trigger leadership contest
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:00 , Harriette BoucherLabour MP Catherine West has told cabinet ministers to challenge Keir Starmer as party leader by Monday, or she will attempt to trigger a leadership contest herself.
Exclusive: Reform’s London mayor candidate criticises Farage’s ‘mass deportation’ election pitch
Saturday 9 May 2026 17:00 , Nicole Wootton-CaneNigel Farage has been warned that Reform UK’s language on migration was responsible for the party not making the gains it had hoped for in London.
Speaking to The Independent Laila Cunningham, Reform’s candidate for London mayor, was critical of the way that talk of “mass deportations” played into the hands of her party’s opponents in the capital.
While Reform made sweeping gains across England with more than 1,400 council seat gains, were strong runners up in Wales and joint second with Labour in Scotland, expected gains in London largely failed to materialise.
The Independent’s political editor David Maddox has this exclusive:
Reform’s London mayor candidate criticises Farage’s ‘mass deportation’ election pitch
‘It’d be nice to get a clear out and start again’: Why have Bradford residents moved on from Labour?
Saturday 9 May 2026 16:51 , Harriette BoucherLabour has just lost control of Bradford council after 12 years.
Earlier this month, The Independent’s Dan Haygarth spoke to residents about why they were thinking of moving on from Keir Starmer’s party.
Read here:
Labour facing battle on both fronts in the city where it was born
Watch: Starmer vows he won't resign as Labour hit by 'really tough' local election results
Saturday 9 May 2026 16:45 , Nicole Wootton-CaneBrown and Harman should have told Starmer to resign, says Labour MP
Saturday 9 May 2026 16:41 , Harriette BoucherLabour MP Paula Barker has hit out at the prime minister for offering Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman “non-jobs”.
She said: “We don’t have to bring back big beasts of our party to try and save the prime minister’s skin.”
She told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “I have enormous respect for both Gordon and Harriet, but I would have had even more respect for them if they had declined the offer of, quite frankly, non-jobs and told the prime minister that it’s time for a change and he should set out his timetable.”
