2026 Labour Party leadership crisis

The 2026 Labour Party leadership crisis emerged amid mounting public dissatisfaction with the Starmer ministry. Combined with a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, as well as numerous protests, u-turns and scandals including the ambassadorial appointment of Peter Mandelson, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's popularity has steadily declined, which has led to fractures within the Labour Party. By the end of 2025, opinion polls rated Starmer as one of Britain's most unpopular prime ministers, drawing comparisons to Liz Truss. The government has faced sustained criticism from across the political spectrum: figures on the right denounced its approach to immigration and tax increases, while figures on the left condemned its stance on the Gaza War, welfare reform and its refusal to introduce a wealth tax. Those controversies resulted in poor Labour results in the 2025 and 2026 local elections and by-elections, while opposition parties like Reform UK and the Green Party made major gains. By mid-May 2026, over 95 Labour MPs had called on Starmer to resign or set out a departure timetable, and one cabinet minister (Health Secretary Wes Streeting), four junior ministers (including Jess Phillips), and four ministerial aides resigned in protest. According to The Guardian, over 110 backbenchers signed a letter saying that a leadership challenge should not occur. According to LabourList, 159 Labour MPs support Starmer, 97 want him to resign or set out a timetable, and 147 have no public position. Starmer has not resigned and has stated he would stand in a leadership challenge. Potential candidates include Andy Burnham, Al Carns, David Lammy, Shabana Mahmood, Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner, and Ed Miliband. On 14 May 2026, Streeting criticised Starmer in his resignation letter, but he did not launch a leadership challenge despite speculation he would do so; he later confirmed his intention to stand in a leadership election, should one be triggered. Later that day, Burnham announced his intention to stand in the by-election for Makerfield, triggered by Josh Simons' resignation. The party's National Executive Committee had previously blocked his candidacy by an 8–1 vote when he applied to be its candidate in the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election.