Wearside MP says party is "on its death bed" as Sir Keir Starmer vows to carry on as prime minister
“We’ve reached an existential crisis”
Wearside’s Labour MPs have been reacting to the party’s disastrous local council election results, with one MP claiming “Labour lies on its death bed” and has called for Keir Starmer to resign.
This morning (May 12) at a meeting with his cabinet, the prime minister is reported to have told his MPs that he will “get on with governing” and that “no leadership challenge has been triggered”.
More than 80 Labour MPs have called for Sir Keir to quit immediately or to draw up a timetable to leave.
One of those is Durham City MP, Mary Kelly Foy.
In an open letter posted on her Facebook page, Ms Foy said: “Backbench MPs like me have felt consistently ignored and disappointingly branded the ‘usual suspects’ for not playing the team game.
“Due to the misguided efforts of those at the top of Government, division in our communities continues to grow, and the continued disfunction in Downing Street has led to even the most hardcore Labour voters turning their backs on the party that was once the beacon of hope to working class and marginalised communities.
“My heart breaks at the current state of the party I’ve called my political home for my entire life and I’m embarrassed by the never ending soundbites from Cabinet ministers saying they don’t hear the issues about leadership on their doorstep.
“I know I might disappoint some Labour members by saying this, but we’ve reached an existential crisis. Labour lies on its deathbed, with the only realistic cure being a change in direction and a change in leadership.
“The best thing that could happen now is for the prime minister to set out a clear timetable for his departure and for the process of a fair and democratic leadership election to be agreed.”
Ms Foy also hit out at the party’s policies lacking “a clear vision and strong values”.
She added: “It has become clear that Labour has lost more votes to progressive parties from the left than to Reform”.
Whilst Sunderland City Central MP Lewis Atkinson has not called for the prime minister to go, he has raised concerns that voters “want a Labour Party that delivers for workers and those who contribute” and they “feel let down by some Government decisions and mistakes”.
In a post on his Facebook page, Mr Atkinson went on to cite the electorate’s concerns about the Government’s approach to welfare reform, small boat crossings not falling faster, taxation, and the fallout from the appointment of Peter Mandleson as the UK Ambassador to the USA.
Mr Atkinson said: “With their votes last week, people showed just how dissatisfied they are with the economic and political status quo.
“Most people told me that their vote was not based on local factors – many said they knew good things are happening in Sunderland - but more important in deciding their votes were stagnant living standards and feeling unfairly treated: that those who work hard and play by the rules aren’t rewarded, and that politicians don’t get it.
“I’m out regularly listening across Sunderland Central, so these views are not a surprise to me, but I’m setting them out here to be clear with constituents about what is in my head when I return to Parliament this week – and when I have conversations with Labour colleagues about our future direction.”
Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition on Sunderland City Council, Paul Edgeworth, has challenged Sunderland's Labour MPs to publicly withdraw their support for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and back a leadership contest.
We have contacted the city’s MPs - Lewis Atkinson, Bridget Phillipson, and Sharon Hodgson - and have asked them about their views of the prime minister remaining in position.
We are awaiting their response.