LONDON, June 21– British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has told Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down, British media reported on Sunday. Cooper, one of Starmer’s most senior ministers, is understood to have delivered the message to Starmer privately over the weekend, according to Sky News.
In addition, British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander urged Starmer to set a timetable for his departure on Friday, saying it would be in the interests of the country and the Labour Party for him to step aside to allow an orderly transition to a new leader, according to Financial Times, quoting “several government members.”
It has also been reported that British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood previously called on Starmer to set a date for his departure. Speaking to Sky News, Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said he thinks Starmer “is making time to reflect on the political realities, challenges and opportunities that he finds himself in” over the weekend.
The renewed pressure on Starmer to resign came after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won a parliamentary by-election in the northwestern English constituency of Makerfield on Friday morning, paving the way for his return to parliament and a possible bid for the Labour Party leadership.
Burnham said during a television debate earlier this month that he would seek to enter any potential Labour leadership contest, should he win the by-election.
Starmer said on Friday that he would run should there be a leadership contest, adding: “I’m not going to walk away from that.” (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
