Starmer weighs political future, decision expected today

LONDON:

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was considering his political future on Sunday, after rival Andy Burnham's decisive election victory to parliament prompted more ministers in the governing Labour ?Party to call for him to go.

Struggling with some of the lowest popularity ratings for any British leader, Starmer could decide as soon as Monday whether to step aside or fight a leadership contest against Burnham, one source said.

The scale of victory Burnham won for a parliamentary seat in northwestern England on Friday has piled pressure on Starmer, with dozens of lawmakers and some ministers privately calling for him to set out a timetable for his departure to clear the way for the former mayor.

A source with knowledge of the matter said Starmer was spending the weekend thinking about and discussing his position with his family but that an expected conversation with Burnham would clarify matters.

"Keir likes to think about things," the source said.

Starmer's unpopularity was laid bare by Labour's heavy losses in local elections in May, and polls of party members indicate Burnham would win a formal leadership contest.

Should Burnham take the helm, he would become Britain's seventh prime minister in the past 10 years.

Sky News reported that it understood foreign minister Yvette Cooper had called on Starmer to stand down in a private conversation over the weekend. Her spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Her apparent appeal, alongside other ministers and dozens of lawmakers, increased the sense that it was now a case of when, rather than if, Starmer would step aside. Starmer said only a few days ago that he would stand in any formal Labour leadership contest ?that sought to replace him.