Sir Keir Starmer has taking a battering, now Express readers decide, should there be an early election?
Sir Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)
It has been a disastrous night for Labour with the party haemorrhaging seats across the country. Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to stay in post, despite calls from within his own party to step aside.
Last night Barry Gardiner MP told the Express the Prime Minister had to go if the results of the elections were bad for the party.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch MP has likewise called for the Prime Minister to vacate No10 post-election.
The Prime Minister leaving would increase calls for there to be a general election.
It has been said that Labour will be the “biggest loser” this election, but the ramifications of the ballot for Sir Keir will be less straightforward.
A polling expert, Keiran Pedley, director of UK politics at Ipsos, said: “I think when the dust settles on these elections, Labour is clearly going to be the biggest loser of the night.”
He pointed to the party losing councillors across England primarily to Reform but also to the Green Party and Conservatives, as well as the prospect of Labour losing power in Wales for the first time and potentially coming third in Scotland.
Kemi Badenoch (Image: Getty)
“So, it’s almost impossible, even at this early stage, to see anything other than Labour being seen as the biggest losers of this set of election results,” the pollster added.
“Whilst everyone can agree Keir Starmer is currently unpopular as Prime Minister, and the Government is unpopular, the solution to that – there’s going to be intense debate within Labour about – you may yet see the political stalemate over the Labour Party continue as they grapple with that question.”
Mrs Badenoch told supporters that she was “very proud” of how the party had done in the election.
Speaking outside Westminster City Hall, the Conservative leader said: “I said that we were going to rebuild after our worst defeat ever and we can see those signs of renewal everywhere that we are standing.”
She later added: “Just two years ago, people were writing us off, saying that we were completely finished, and now we are winning Westminster.”