LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MAY 9: Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy speak about the media reaction to the local council election results at AFC Wimbledon on May 9, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Alicia Abodunde/Getty Images)
Alicia Abodunde | Getty Images News | Getty Images
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated on Saturday that he intends to remain in office despite his ruling Labor Party suffering its worst defeat in local elections in decades.
“I’m not going to go away and throw the country into chaos,” Starmer told the BBC. “I think the right thing to do is to rebuild and show us the way forward.”
The anti-immigrant Reform UK party has made significant gains in England’s local parliaments, largely at the expense of Labour, while the pro-independence Plaid Cymru party has won the most seats in the Welsh parliament, overturning decades of Labor rule. The Scottish National Party won the most seats in Scotland’s devolved parliaments.
Growth and living standards have stagnated in recent years, and Labor faces growing public anger over the slow pace of economic reform.
On Saturday, calls for Starmer to resign grew louder among some Labor members.
In a post on X, former minister Catherine West said: “I speak not only for myself but for many people in the Labor Party when I know that I would like to step down as leader.”
Bond vigilantes have been keeping a close eye on Starmer’s fate in recent weeks.
On Friday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year British government bond (known as Gilt) fell by 1:27 p.m. to 4.904% in the London market, falling in response to Starmer’s insistence that he would not resign.
The local election results do not affect the composition of the Westminster parliament or the change of government, but reflect a deterioration in voters’ sentiments about Mr Starmer’s leadership.
SHEFFIELD, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 1: Former Prime Minister and Multibank founder Gordon Brown is seen attending the Homewards Program’s second anniversary event on July 1, 2025 in Sheffield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)
Dominic Lipinski | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Meanwhile, Mr Starmer on Saturday appointed former prime minister Gordon Brown as special envoy for global financial cooperation.
Brown was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1997 to 2007. He is widely recognized for his efforts to strengthen the international banking system during the global financial crisis.
He will be tasked with building a new international financial partnership that can support defense and security investment, including measures to support the UK’s relationship with Europe, the Cabinet Office said in a statement to CNBC.
– CNBC’s Chloe Taylor contributed to this article.
