Jess Phillips resigns as minister telling Starmer ‘deeds, not words, matter’ after PM says he won’t quit
How can MPs trigger a leadership contest? And is 81 actually the magic number?published at 11:15 BST
Harry Farley
Political correspondent
In his words to cabinet, the prime minister said: “The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered.”
In saying that, he’s dared his leadership rivals to publicly challenge him.
In the Labour party’s rules, there is no formal role for a vote of no confidence. That was demonstrated in 2016 when Labour MPs held a vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn but he refused to step down.
The only way for Labour MPs to trigger a leadership contest is for 20% of them to publicly back a challenger. With the current size of the party in parliament, that means 81 Labour MPs would need to coalesce behind one name.
At the moment about 80 MPs have urged the prime minister to step down, or set out a timetable for his departure.
But, crucially, they are not united in who they want to replace Starmer.
Many calling for an orderly timetable to the prime minister’s resignation hope that would give Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, enough time to find a seat and return to Parliament. Others wanting Starmer to go immediately back Wes Streeting or Angela Rayner, hoping a quick contest would prevent Burnham from having the time to become an MP and so be able to run.
So far, none of his rivals in Parliament have publicly challenged him. And the prime minister is effectively saying to them, in the words of John Major in 1995, “it is time to put up or shut up.”
