Labour MP Catherine West threatens to trigger Starmer leadership contest by Monday

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a possible leadership challenge as early as next week after his Labour Party took heavy losses in Thursday's local elections.

Labour MP Catherine West told the BBC that she will trigger a leadership contest herself if a Cabinet minister does not challenge Starmer by Monday. West, a former junior Foreign Office minister, said she was putting the Cabinet on notice.

"I’m putting people on notice — if I don’t hear by Monday morning of some leadership hopefuls, I will be asking everybody in the Parliamentary Labour Party to put a name against my name, because we need to get this ball rolling," she told the outlet.

West prefers the Cabinet reshuffle itself, with Starmer taking a different role, perhaps international, to let others lead with less disruption. "But 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, and then for others to come to the fore, who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss," she said.

To trigger a contest, West needs support from 20% of Labour MPs, or 81 members. She reported that about 10 MPs back her so far and expects more to join.

Labour lost roughly 1,400 seats across the U.K. in the elections, with Reform UK posting strong gains, according to GB News. Starmer took responsibility for the results but rejected resignation demands. "I am not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos," he said.

He has not ruled out a managed departure and plans to speak on the matter Monday. As of late Friday, 22 Labour MPs had publicly urged him to step down or set an exit timeline, the BBC reported.

West named no preferred successor. "I don't have a candidate. That's part of the problem," she said. She added that several figures have prepared for months but surprised her by staying silent.