UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls to step down as his team reels from the fallout of appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S., a move that has boomeranged amid disclosures about Mandelson’s ties to convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here is how a resignation or a Labour leadership challenge would unfold — and what it would take to replace a sitting prime minister.
What happens if Starmer resigns?
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If Starmer quits, the Labour Party would immediately begin a leadership contest to choose his successor. With Labour currently holding 404 seats, any candidate would first need the public support of 81 Labour lawmakers to get on the ballot.
Beyond nominations from members of Parliament, candidates must also clear thresholds for backing from grassroots Labour organizations and affiliated groups such as trade unions. These are formal parts of Labour’s rules and ensure that any would-be leader demonstrates broad support across the party.
If only one candidate meets all the qualifying thresholds, there is no membership vote. That candidate would be elected unopposed as Labour leader and, given Labour’s parliamentary majority, would become prime minister.
If more than one candidate qualifies, the winner is chosen in a ballot of Labour members and affiliates. The candidate who secures the most votes becomes party leader and then prime minister.
How can Starmer’s leadership be challenged?
A challenge to Starmer can take place if a rival candidate secures enough support to mount a bid to replace him. As things stand, that means gathering 81 nominations from Labour lawmakers to formally enter the race.
In any such contest, the sitting leader — in this case, Starmer — would automatically appear on the ballot alongside any qualifying challengers. From there, the contest would follow the same process as a post-resignation race: if a single candidate qualifies, they win unopposed; if multiple candidates qualify, the party membership and affiliates vote to decide the leader.
Why Labour challenges are harder to mount
It is generally more difficult for Labour lawmakers to depose a prime minister than it is for the rival Conservative Party. Conservative leaders can be forced into a vote of no confidence among their lawmakers, whereas Labour rebels must coalesce around specific alternative candidates who meet formal thresholds. That structural difference raises the bar for organizing a successful move against a sitting leader.
Labour members of Parliament have never successfully removed a serving prime minister in the party’s more than 125-year history. The closest modern parallel came in 2006, when former Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a timeline for stepping down after pressure that included resignations by junior members of his government. He did not quit immediately.
What’s at stake now
The immediate pressure on Starmer stems from the political blowback to the Mandelson appointment and the questions it has triggered inside Labour’s ranks. For any attempt to replace him to proceed, critics would need to unite behind a challenger who can command at least 81 nominations — and then persuade the party’s grassroots and affiliated groups. Without that, calls for change will remain just that: calls, rather than a contest.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
