Starmer weighing 'political realities', ally says, as PM considers future

Sir Keir Starmer is reflecting on the "political realities" he now faces, a cabinet ally of the prime minister has said, in a sign he is contemplating stepping down.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC that any decision he makes "will always be about what's in the best interest of the country", while referencing the "chaos" of leadership challenges under the Tories.

Calls for the PM to set out an exit timetable have grown after Andy Burnham's decisive victory in the Makerfield by-election means he can now challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership.

A growing number of figures in government believe the prime minister is preparing to set out plans for his departure as early as Monday.

In the immediate aftermath of Burnham's victory, Sir Keir continued to insist he would fight any formal leadership bid, meaning a contest in which Labour members and affiliated trade union supporters decide on the party's future would be needed.

But in a shift in tone, Kyle told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the prime minister was "taking the time to think through what the political realties are today, compared to last week and the week before".

He said he had spoken to Sir Keir on Friday and was sure that "every decision he makes today" about Labour's future would reflect "what's in the best interests of the country".

"I don't want to come on here and be delusional that there is no process, there is no forces at work which are challenging the prime minister as leader," Kyle added.

While using a formal process to change leader was "better wherever possible", this needed to be balanced against the need to maintain the government's authority "through any processes that may unfold", he said.

The 2020 leadership race that led to Sir Keir being made Labour leader took six weeks, with some Labour MPs expressing concerns that disagreements that would accompany a similar contest could further damage the party's prospects.

Concerns have also been raised that this could create uncreate unnecessary uncertainty for the markets and delay key government decisions.

Burnham was able to fend off a challenge from Reform UK and increase Labour's majority in Makerfield on Thursday, bucking a recent trend of electoral losses.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper have since urged Sir Keir to set out an exit timetable, it us understood.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had already done the same in the aftermath of devastating results for Labour in a series of elections last month.

Burnham, who is understood to be spending time with his family this weekend, is expected to travel to Westminster on Monday to formally take up his seat as an MP.

His allies urged the prime minister to reflect over the weekend and listen to his cabinet ministers, MPs and his family.

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, a potential leadership rival to Burnham, has previously said he would join any contest, arguing the party needed to undergo a "battle of ideas" over its future direction.

Jess Phillips, who was one of four ministers to quit in the immediate aftermath of May's election results, said: "It feels like we've come to the end of the road."

But the former safeguarding minister, seen as a close ally of Streeting, said she hoped the party would find a means to question "what's coming next" even if this did not "end up with a full-scale contest".

"You can't just come and take over," she told Kuenssberg. "You do have to come and present your ideas to, at the very least, the Parliamentary Labour Party."

During the month-long Makerfield campaign, Burnham recommitted to Labour's manifesto promise not to increase the main rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance, as well as the borrowing rules set by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

He has expressed a desire for "stronger public control" of utilities and repeated previous pledges to replace inheritance tax with a new "national care levy".

However, he has yet to set out his thinking in other policy areas, including on defence spending, while Sir Keir has of late focused his efforts on rewriting government budgets to free up more cash for military investment.

Labour MP Toby Perkins, a shadow minister in opposition, told Kuenssberg he did not want Sir Keir to stand down, adding it would mean the country would have its "seventh prime minister in 10 years".

He said the PM "deserves a bit of time" and that he did not believe the government was "manifestly failing", noting it had lowered NHS waiting times, net migration and the asylum backlog.

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