- The undersecretary resigns and asks him to set a schedule.
- Almost 80 legislators call for Starmer to resign.
- Borrowing costs rise, sterling falls due to new instability.
LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to resign on Tuesday and told ministers he would “continue to govern” despite a “destabilizing” 48 hours of growing calls to set a timetable for his departure after an election defeat.
At a meeting of his cabinet ministers, Starmer, in the top job for less than two years, repeated that while he took responsibility for one of his Labor Party’s worst electoral defeats, there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest.
“The last 48 hours have been destabilizing for the government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families,” Starmer told ministers, according to his Downing Street office.
“The country expects us to continue governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet.”
British government bonds rose weakly following Starmer’s comments, but remained firmly in the red throughout the day.
His defiance contrasted sharply with the feelings of many in his Labor Party.
On Tuesday, a junior minister resigned after a handful of ministerial aides also left the government. More than 80 Labor lawmakers have publicly called on him to set a resignation date so the party can install a new leader in an orderly manner.
Starmer had sought to reinforce his position on Monday when he promised to act with more boldness and urgency to address Britain’s many problems.
He had said the country would never forgive the center-left Labor Party if it embarked on a leadership challenge, just two years after its huge parliamentary majority was supposed to end the political chaos that had gripped the country since Britain voted to leave the European Union 10 years ago.
