British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told cabinet ministers on Tuesday he would "get on with governing" despite growing pressure over Labour's recent election defeat and calls for him to resign, as the first serving government minister quit and rebellion inside the parliamentary party intensified.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Starmer sought to steady his government after what he described as a "destabilising" period for Westminster.
According to a readout by the prime minister’s office, Starmer told ministers: "As I said yesterday, I take responsibility for these election results and I take responsibility for delivering the change we promised. The past 48 hours have been destabilising for the government, and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families. The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered. The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet."
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the communities minister, became the first government minister to resign, joining more than 70 Labour MPs who have urged the prime minister either to step down immediately or to draw up a timeline for leaving office.
Starmer entered the cabinet meeting under severe strain following Labour's poor performance in last week's elections, which triggered open revolt inside the parliamentary party and exposed deep divisions within government over his future.
The turmoil deepened late Monday night when Downing Street replaced six ministerial aides who had quit earlier in the evening, in what appeared to be an effort to stabilise the government's lower ranks as pressure on the prime minister intensified.
