{"id":145481,"date":"2026-02-09T16:17:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/?p=145481"},"modified":"2026-05-11T15:09:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:09:41","slug":"reaction-to-sarwar-suggests-labour-isnt-ready-to-depose-starmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/news-feature\/2026\/02\/09\/reaction-to-sarwar-suggests-labour-isnt-ready-to-depose-starmer\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn\u2019t ready to depose Starmer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Anas Sarwar, has moved first.<\/p>\n<p>Declaring that he had to do \u201cwhat is right for my country\u201d, Sarwar called on the prime minister to resign in a scathing statement.<\/p>\n<p>In a press conference this afternoon, Sarwar proclaimed: \u201cIt is not easy and not without pain, but my first priority and first loyalty is to my country\u2026 The distraction has to end, and the leadership in Downing Street has to change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sarwar\u2019s sensational intervention marked a massive moment for the politics of the Labour Party and the nation.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sarwar has felt the blunt force of the Labour brand\u2019s toxicity in his campaign for the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections. That he has chosen to strike now would suggest that the Scottish Labour leader\u2019s estimation of his party\u2019s chances in May is dismal. The intervention is an effective admission that the Scottish Labour Party cannot win an election with Starmer as prime minister.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In July 2022, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, was the first senior party figure to call for Boris Johnson to stand down as prime minister. His resignation was followed mere moments later by that of Rishi Sunak, the chancellor. Javid and Sunak sparked an all-consuming torrent of departures, accompanied by letters lambasting Johnson\u2019s character, judgement and conduct.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the 24 hours that followed Sunak and Javid\u2019s resignations, 36 MPs stepped down from their roles in government. At the time, Starmer referred to Johnson as a \u201cpathetic spectacle\u201d and mocked those who remained on the frontbench as the \u201ccharge of the lightweight brigade\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sunak\u2019s resignation was integral in triggering the ministerial stampede that ultimately trampled Johnson.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>When the herd moves, the outgoing prime minister observed, <i>it moves<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>In this regard, the news that Eluned Morgan, the first minister of Wales, would follow Sarwar in calling for Starmer\u2019s resignation initially seemed significant. Like Sarwar north of the border, Welsh Labour is facing a possible routing on 7 May \u2013 courtesy of an insurgent Reform UK. But reports have since clarified that Morgan will not be commenting on Starmer\u2019s future today.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>***Politics.co.uk is the UK\u2019s leading digital-only political website. <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/subscribe\/\"><i>Subscribe to our daily newsletter<\/i><\/a><i> for all the latest news and analysis.***<\/i><\/p>\n<p>And so the spotlight now swings back to Westminster.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sarwar\u2019s statement, together with Tim Allan\u2019s resignation this morning and Morgan McSweeney\u2019s resignation on Sunday, strengthens the prevailing impression of a government in freefall.<\/p>\n<p>But in a strictly processual sense, the Scottish Labour leader has no say in Starmer\u2019s future \u2013 that is up to the prime minister himself and the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). A leadership contender needs 81 MPs to trigger a contest; meanwhile, Starmer continues to insist that he will not resign.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Responding to Sarwar\u2019s intervention, a Downing Street spokesperson said: \u201cKeir Starmer is one of only four Labour leaders ever to have won a general election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has a clear five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change, and that is what he will do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even more significantly, Sarwar\u2019s declaration has awoken the cabinet from its collective slumber. Downing Street, notwithstanding recent resignations, has been successful in securing public statements of support from secretaries of state.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has insisted that with \u201cKeir as our prime minister, we are turning the country around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, has called on his colleagues to \u201cget behind the prime minister\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Steve Reed, the housing secretary, has said that Labour needs to \u201cstay the course\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Douglas Alexander, the secretary of state for Scotland, has said he \u201crespects\u201d Sarwar but that Starmer has his support. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, has called for \u201ccalm heads and seriousness of purpose\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Peter Kyle, the business and trade secretary, has said he backs Starmer as prime minister, adding: \u201cThe economy is growing, let&#8217;s focus on delivering for the British people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his first tweet in almost a year, Alan Campbell, the leader of the House of Commons, stated: \u201cThe only change we need to be talking about is the change we were elected to deliver for the British people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And what of possible leadership contenders?<\/p>\n<p>Ed Miliband, the energy and climate secretary, declared that Starmer has \u201cearned the right to deliver the change he has promised and do what he cares about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wes Streeting, the ambitious health secretary, has conceded that it has \u201cnot been the best week for the government.\u201d But speaking to <i>Sky News<\/i>, he added: \u201cGive Keir a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On top of this, Angela Rayner has issued a statement saying Starmer has her \u201cfull support.\u201d The former deputy prime minister said that the worst possible response to the Peter Mandelson affair would be \u201cto play party politics or factional games.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These expressions of support, from the enthusiastic to the somewhat strained, matter. So far, Sarwar\u2019s intervention has not provided a springboard to collective action at Westminster; no one has been willing to give a lead at Westminster to an anti-Starmer campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The clean sweep of cabinet support is reminiscent of the reaction to previous Labour coup attempts. In June 2009, after James Purnell resigned as work and pensions secretary and called on Gordon Brown to step down, the rest of the cabinet swung to the prime minister\u2019s defence. David Miliband, the foreign secretary, and Alan Johnson, the health secretary \u2013 Brown\u2019s most likely heirs \u2013 rowed in behind the Downing Street incumbent.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Purnell\u2019s putsch failed.<\/p>\n<p>In January 2010, two former cabinet ministers, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon, called for a leadership contest to resolve Brown\u2019s future. The Hewitt-Hoon coup was summarily dismissed by a chorus of cabinet ministers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>There is another possible parallel in recent political history. In January 2022 \u2013 some months before Javid and Sunak moved at Westminster \u2013 the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, called for Boris Johnson to resign as prime minister.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Jacob Rees-Mogg, the then leader of the House of Commons, responded that he did not think Ross was a \u201cbig figure\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Less than two months later, Ross was forced to walk back his call for Johnson to resign.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Then as now, it would seem that the parliamentary party is not ready to depose the sitting prime minister \u2013 at least not like this.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>Josh Self is editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/josh-self.bsky.social\"><i>here<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0and X <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Josh_Self_\"><i>here<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>Politics.co.uk is the UK\u2019s leading digital-only political website. <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/subscribe\/\"><i>Subscribe to our daily newsletter<\/i><\/a><i> for all the latest news and analysis.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Anas Sarwar, has moved first. Declaring that he had to do \u201cwhat is right for my country\u201d, Sarwar called on the prime minister to resign in a scathing statement. In a press conference this afternoon, Sarwar proclaimed: \u201cIt is not easy and not without pain, but my first&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/news-feature\/2026\/02\/09\/reaction-to-sarwar-suggests-labour-isnt-ready-to-depose-starmer\/\" title=\"Read Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn\u2019t ready to depose Starmer\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":183,"featured_media":127521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6511],"tags":[8109,5946],"editors-picks":[],"maps":[],"class_list":["post-145481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-feature","tag-anas-sarwar","tag-keir-starmer-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn\u2019t ready to depose Starmer - Politics.co.uk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/news-feature\/2026\/02\/09\/reaction-to-sarwar-suggests-labour-isnt-ready-to-depose-starmer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn\u2019t ready to depose Starmer - Politics.co.uk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Anas Sarwar, has moved first. Declaring that he had to do \u201cwhat is right for my country\u201d, Sarwar called on the prime minister to resign in a scathing statement. In a press conference this afternoon, Sarwar proclaimed: \u201cIt is not easy and not without pain, but my first... 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Picture date: Monday September 26, 2022.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/news-feature\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/09\\\/reaction-to-sarwar-suggests-labour-isnt-ready-to-depose-starmer\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn\u2019t ready to depose Starmer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Politics.co.uk\",\"description\":\"UK politics - latest news and insight\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Politics.co.uk\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/politicscouk.wpengine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/Politics-logo-redesign-Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/politicscouk.wpengine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/Politics-logo-redesign-Black.png\",\"width\":3682,\"height\":990,\"caption\":\"Politics.co.uk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9a232de0959ff678e2d672ecc58c2fbc\",\"name\":\"Josh Self\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c2ebc4c87dc0f14e41d9e70212c2650248a700c3f57c1dd365c66c2b48b6930e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c2ebc4c87dc0f14e41d9e70212c2650248a700c3f57c1dd365c66c2b48b6930e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c2ebc4c87dc0f14e41d9e70212c2650248a700c3f57c1dd365c66c2b48b6930e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Josh Self\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/josh-self-994553205\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.politics.co.uk\\\/author\\\/joshself\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn\u2019t ready to depose Starmer - Politics.co.uk","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/news-feature\/2026\/02\/09\/reaction-to-sarwar-suggests-labour-isnt-ready-to-depose-starmer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn\u2019t ready to depose Starmer - Politics.co.uk","og_description":"The leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Anas Sarwar, has moved first. Declaring that he had to do \u201cwhat is right for my country\u201d, Sarwar called on the prime minister to resign in a scathing statement. In a press conference this afternoon, Sarwar proclaimed: \u201cIt is not easy and not without pain, but my first... 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Picture date: Monday September 26, 2022."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/news-feature\/2026\/02\/09\/reaction-to-sarwar-suggests-labour-isnt-ready-to-depose-starmer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reaction to Sarwar suggests Labour isn\u2019t ready to depose Starmer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/","name":"Politics.co.uk","description":"UK politics - latest news and insight","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/#organization","name":"Politics.co.uk","url":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/politicscouk.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Politics-logo-redesign-Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/politicscouk.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Politics-logo-redesign-Black.png","width":3682,"height":990,"caption":"Politics.co.uk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/9a232de0959ff678e2d672ecc58c2fbc","name":"Josh Self","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c2ebc4c87dc0f14e41d9e70212c2650248a700c3f57c1dd365c66c2b48b6930e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c2ebc4c87dc0f14e41d9e70212c2650248a700c3f57c1dd365c66c2b48b6930e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c2ebc4c87dc0f14e41d9e70212c2650248a700c3f57c1dd365c66c2b48b6930e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Josh Self"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/josh-self-994553205\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/author\/joshself\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/183"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145481"},{"taxonomy":"editors-picks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/editors-picks?post=145481"},{"taxonomy":"maps","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politics.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/maps?post=145481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}