LONDON, May 12– A third junior minister resigned from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government on Tuesday, adding to mounting pressure on the Labour leader after the party’s heavy losses in recent local elections.
Alex Davies-Jones, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, quit the government on Tuesday after urging Starmer to set an exit timetable.
“The time now is for bold, radical action,” Davies-Jones wrote in a resignation letter posted on social media platform X. “I implore you to act in the country’s interest and set out a timetable for your departure.”
Earlier in the day, Jess Phillips, parliamentary under-secretary of state for safeguarding and violence against women and girls at the Home Office, resigned, saying she could no longer serve under the current leadership.
“I’m not seeing the change I think I, and the country expect, and so cannot continue to serve as a minister under the current leadership,” Phillips wrote in a letter to Starmer.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Miatta Fahnbulleh also stepped down from government. She later publicly backed Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as a potential successor to Starmer.
The resignations underscored growing divisions within the Labour Party after it suffered significant losses in local elections last week, including losing control of Wales for the first time in a century.
Amid mounting pressure, Starmer convened a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning in an effort to stabilize his government and contain growing calls within the party for him to step down. British media reported that more than 80 Labour lawmakers had publicly urged Starmer to resign, while several senior cabinet ministers were believed to support a plan for an orderly leadership transition.
Speaking at the meeting, Starmer insisted he would remain in office and said the Labour Party’s formal process for challenging a leader “has not been triggered.”
Under Labour Party rules, a formal leadership contest requires the backing of 20 percent of Labour lawmakers, currently equivalent to around 80 members of parliament. (Namibia Daily News/ Xinhua)
