Starmer must agree to orderly exit, say Labour MPs
Sir Keir Starmer must agree to an orderly exit and set out a timetable for his departure, Labour MPs have said.
The Prime Minister said he was “not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos” following a disastrous set of local election results.
His words appear to rule out a resignation and immediate departure from Downing Street, but not necessarily a managed exit.
Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, reportedly held a private phone call with Sir Keir over the last fortnight to establish a timeline for his departure from No 10. Mr Miliband’s team did not explicitly deny the report in The Times.
Asked whether he should resign immediately or plan an orderly departure, Graham Stringer, the Labour MP, told The Telegraph: “I think it would be much better for him to set out a timetable.
“I think we might be in danger of getting somebody who’s no better. Without a policy debate to clarify where people are going, we could just have a ridiculous beauty contest.”
Ian Lavery, a former Labour chairman, warned that Sir Keir could “kill the Labour Party” if he remained its leader, telling BBC Radio 4 that “an organised withdrawal” would be the best course of action.
John McDonnell, a former shadow chancellor, and Jonathan Brash, the MP for Hartlepool, also called for a “timetable” for Sir Keir’s exit.
Labour is on course to receive its worst set of local election results in the party’s history, having already lost control of nine councils on Friday morning.
[Source: Daily Telegraph]
