LORD LIDDLE, a senior Labour peer who has, until now, been loyal to Sir Keir Starmer, has called on the Prime Minister to step down, with a view to the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, taking his place.

The peer, who is a practising Anglican, served as special adviser to Sir Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister, and is currently chair of the centre-left think tank Progress.

He told the Church Times on Tuesday that he was “very sad about the situation”. He said that his party was “facing an existential crisis”, and publicly backed Mr Streeting as the best successor to Sir Keir Starmer. “Under Keir, Labour has done good things and he has shown strong international leadership. But we are floundering as a government without energy, boldness and a clear sense of strategy,” he said.

Lord Liddle, who worships at St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, said: “I feel very sad about the situation. Labour owes Keir a lot for how he rescued the party from the [Jeremy] Corbyn disaster. But the plain fact is this: following the disastrous local elections, particularly the scale of the losses to Reform in the north and midlands, where Labour didn’t win a single seat in Angela Rayner’s [constituency of] Ashton-under-Lyne, the country and party are facing an existential crisis.

ROGER LIDDLELord Liddle

“Unless Labour dramatically raises its game in government, there is a real prospect we could end up with Nigel Farage as Prime Minister, with over 70 per cent of the country not wanting it to happen. . .

“I believe only Wes Streeting can lift the country and party out of this depression and torpor.”

Lord Liddle was speaking as Sir Keir was attempting to save his premiership in the face of a series of resignations — including that of Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister — following the local elections last week, in which Labour lost almost 1500 councillors in local elections across England.

The party also lost power in Wales, where it had dominated electorally for decades. And it won just 17 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament — its worst ever result at a Holyrood election.

The Church in Wales issued a statement after the local elections. “Our democracy is strengthened when disagreement is marked by respect, when dialogue is thoughtful and generous, and when those in public life remember their shared duty to serve every community in Wales,” it said. “The Church in Wales assures all members, whether re-elected or elected for the first time, of our prayers and support as they undertake the important work ahead.”

The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev Mark Strange, had urged people to vote before the elections. “Mindful of this moment, and remembering with gratitude those who struggled so that we might share in the right to vote, we are called to treat this responsibility with reverence and care,” he said.

On Wednesday, it was reported that Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, was due to resign and challenge for the leadership as soon as Thursday. Last week, his office, citing “emerging commitments”, postponed an interview due on Tuesday of this week with the Church Times.

The Faith Minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh, was the first government minister to resign on Tuesday, saying that her constituents in Peckham had made it clear that they had lost faith and confidence in Sir Keir.

“There had been too many mistakes, [such as] the winter fuel payment, disability cuts, that suggested we weren’t clear about our values and our purpose and mission as a government,” she wrote in her resignation letter.

The Chair of Christians on the Left, Anna Dixon, MP for Shipley, also called on Sir Keir to stand down, and said that the party should plan for an “orderly transition” of the leadership.

The Christian Labour MP for York Central, Rachael Maskell (Features, 14 November 2025), also said that Sir Keir “cannot continue” after the local election results.

But the government minister for work and pensions, Sir Stephen Timms, who is an Evangelical Christian, backed Sir Keir. “The Prime Minister has my full support. He — and we — should be getting on with the job,” he wrote on social media.

Ms Dixon’s predecessor at Christians on the Left, Jonathan Reynolds MP, also gave his backing. “The Prime Minister has my full support and is delivering the change the country voted for,” he said. “He won a mandate to serve working people and the country and we must continue to deliver on the progress we’ve already made. Resorting to infighting now does not serve the country.”

This story was updated on 13 May 2026