Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is among at least four cabinet ministers who have told Sir Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure from Downing Street, Sky News and The Times have reported — as the Prime Minister faces the most serious threat to his leadership since taking office.
Union sources told Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates that Mahmood, who has served as Home Secretary since September 2025, is among those saying the Prime Minister should go. Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby also confirmed she had been told that Mahmood had visited Starmer in person on Monday. The Home Office did not comment on the reports.
The scale of the rebellion has grown sharply since the weekend. More than 70 Labour MPs have now signed a letter calling on Starmer to resign as Prime Minister, while four government aides have quit their posts in protest. A group of senior cabinet ministers has also visited Downing Street directly to tell him his position is unsustainable, according to The Times.
Starmer is refusing to go. In a speech in central London on Monday, he said he was “not going to shy away from the fact that I’ve got some doubters, including in my own party,” adding: “I’m not going to shy away from the fact that I have to prove them wrong, and I will.” He has insisted he will not walk away and plunge the country into chaos.
Behind the scenes, however, the picture is markedly darker. Sky’s Rigby reported that Number 10 — with the help of Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy — had been calling around ministers in a bid to shore up support for the Prime Minister. “But as it stands tonight, that hasn’t been very forthcoming,” she said.
Among those who have resigned their government aide roles is Cabinet Office PPS Naushabah Khan, who called for “new leadership,” and Sally Jameson, a PPS to Mahmood herself — a detail that deepens the significance of the Home Secretary’s reported position.
The rebellion is a consequence of a catastrophic set of local election results last Thursday, in which Labour suffered heavy losses to Reform UK across England, lost control of multiple councils, and faced significant pressure in Wales and Scotland. Starmer accepted responsibility for the results on Monday but stopped short of the timetable for departure that a growing number of his own colleagues are demanding.
