Jewish Labour parliamentarians divided as calls for Starmer’s resignation intensify

Jewish Labour parliamentarians remain divided over support for embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after more than 80 MPs called for his resignation in the wake of catastrophic local election results.

As doubts over Starmer’s future grew, Attorney General Richard Hermer KC and Schools Minister Georgia Gould were among the Jewish MPs who rallied to his side during the crisis.

Gould, MP for Queens Park and Maida Vale and a long-time friend of both Starmer and his wife Victoria, said:”I know Keir Starmer well. I was a council leader when he was the MP, and he’s someone who gets up every day to serve the public.

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“He actually focuses on service and action, and he’s acknowledged he needs to better communicate his reasons for leading. But he’s a lightning rod for people’s frustrations—there are so many problems we’ve been left with. I really believe Keir Starmer is a decent man doing this for the right reasons.”

Hermer, one of Starmer’s most loyal allies, has been closely advising the Prime Minister as more than 81 of Labour’s 403 MPs have now demanded he step down after last week’s electoral disaster.

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Hermer described Starmer as “a leader, a proven election winner and the right person to take us forward.”

He noted that there is a Labour Party process to trigger a leadership contest, but said it was up to others to decide whether to use it.

However, Hermer added: “They should stop the damage they’re causing the British economy and the Labour Party.”

In contrast, Jewish Labour veteran and peer Dame Margaret Hodge expressed doubt over Starmer’s ability to turn things around for Labour during an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It is incredibly depressing that after less than two years in office, we find ourselves in this position,” said Hodge, the Jewish Labour Movement’s former parliamentary chair.

After the “tsunami of losses” for Labour in last Thursday’s elections, Hodge added: “If you get this sort of response, you’ve lost the confidence of the people you’re there to represent.”

She said, “It’s hugely important to listen, to make sure they’re on your side, to reconnect with them.”

“I think yesterday’s speech by Keir failed to do that,” she said. “You’ve got to reconnect with your voters and build trust, and that requires a very different approach to politics.”

On Monday, after Starmer gave what had been billed as a make-or-break speech to Labour colleagues, David Pinto-Duschinsky, Labour MP for Hendon, said the Prime Minister was “rising to the occasion” with his pledge to nationalise British steel and forge closer ties with the EU.

Pinto-Duschinsky said the speech had shown “the humility, passion and determination” of Starmer to “bring real change.”

Arguing against leadership challenges, Pinto-Duschinsky said: “Our communities want us to deliver—we must not turn inwards.”

However, Leeds Central and Headingley MP Alex Sobel argued that the Prime Minister failed to “challenge the status quo” with his speech on Monday and should “announce a date for his departure so we can have an open contest and an orderly transition,” while urging against a “rushed” contest.

He said: “The real turning point for the public was the resignation of Peter Mandelson and the subsequent revelations about his appointment, and I’ve yet to hear that properly acknowledged by the Prime Minister. That moment represented a loss of trust in him personally, which I heard time and again on the doorstep.”

Unsurprisingly, the left-leaning Charlotte Nicols also called for Starmer to stand down.

After his speech, she said: “I just thought it’s done, it’s over. It’s time for someone else to come in.”

On the party’s right, Blue Labour, an internal pressure group founded by Jewish Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman, has said “it’s time for Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure”.

Other senior Jewish Labour figures, including Courts Minister Sarah Sackman, MP for Finchley and Golders Green  had yet to comment.

Chipping Barnet MP and treasury minister Dan Tomlinson is also believed to still be supportive of the PM.

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips became the second minister to stand down, criticising the Prime Minister’s failure to be “bold” on Tuesday.

It meant over 81 MPs had now joined calls for Starmer to step down.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is seen as a possible successor but he ignored journalists shouting questions at him as he left No 10.

Sir Keir has dug in, despite the first ministerial resignation from his Government and a growing number of Labour MPs urging him to set a timetable for his departure.

According to Downing Street, the Prime Minister told his Cabinet: “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 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.”

Other possible challengers include Angela Rayner, Andy Burnham, and Ed Miliband.

Rayner, long regarded as the next PM, has seen her stock fall in recent months, and seems less likely to be in a position to put herself forward, with her tax affairs yet to be sorted.

Burnham has desperately sought a route back to Westminster, but has been blocked by Labour’s NEC, and has yet to find a by-election to stand in to leave his Greater Manchester mayoral job.

Former leader Miliband could become the “left” candidate in any leadership election, although he is also believed to be keen to serve as chancellor under Burnham.

Jewish News understands that many Labour parliamentarians from within the community currently supportive of the PM would line up behind Streeting in a leadership contest not involving Starmer.