The prime minister said on Saturday Mr Brown will serve as a special envoy on global finance, while ex-deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman has been appointed an adviser on women and girls.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir is under mounting pressure after a string of Labour MPs<\/a> called for his resignation, blaming him losing hundreds of councillors in England and a major humiliation in Wales.<\/p>\n Labour haemorrhaged support in former strongholds while Reform UK<\/a> made huge gains and Plaid Cymru became the largest party in the Senedd election.<\/p>\n Critics turning on Sir Keir include Louise Haigh, his former transport secretary. Andrea Egan, the general secretary of Unison, Britain\u2019s largest union and one of Labour\u2019s biggest financial backers, warned that the party faced \u201coblivion\u201d unless Sir Keir stepped down, while Sharon Graham, the boss of Unite the Union, said he faced a choice to \u201cchange or die\u201d.<\/p>\n But deputy leader Lucy Powell stuck by the prime minister, saying Labour must \u201clisten\u201d and \u201cchange\u201d approach but that her party \u201cdoes not do hostile takeovers\u201d.<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> said on Friday he is \u201churt\u201d but is \u201cnot going to walk away\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/a>Labour MP calls for ‘orderly transition of leadership’<\/p>\n Labour MP Tony Vaughan said there should be an \u201corderly transition of leadership\u201d before next year\u2019s local elections.<\/p>\n The Folkestone and Hythe MP said the party was \u201chamstrung\u201d by Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s association with Labour\u2019s mistakes in office including winter fuel cuts, benefits reform, the prime minister\u2019s comments on Gaza and appointment of Lord Mandelson.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWe must give the public a Labour leader with a clear vision, conviction and the ability to inspire if we are to stand any chance of turning things around.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I strongly believe that there must be an orderly transition of leadership well before the local elections next year. Otherwise, we are conceding defeat to (Nigel) Farage before we have even started.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 11:20<\/p>\n <\/a>Labour won fewer than half of seats it was defending in local elections, analysis suggests<\/p>\n Based on full results from 129 of the 136 councils in England that held elections on Thursday, Labour won 47 per cent of the seats it was defending, while the Conservatives won 63 per cent of the seats they were defending, according to Press Association analysis.<\/p>\n These figures are a comparison with seats the parties held just before the elections took place.<\/p>\n Using the same calculation, at last year\u2019s local elections in England both Labour and the Tories won 33 per cent of the seats they were defending.<\/p>\n Reform UK has won 31 per cent of the seats in which it stood candidates this year, while the Greens have won 12 per cent.<\/p>\n Last year Reform won 42 per cent of the seats it contested and the Greens won 7 per cent.<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 11:14<\/p>\n <\/a>Farage: Labour are doomed<\/p>\n Nigel Farage has said Labour are \u201cdoomed\u201d as he reacted to the news of Gordon Brown being brought back into government.<\/p>\n Posting on X, the Reform UK leader wrote: \u201cAn unpopular Prime Minister who lost a general election is now seen by Starmer as being the saviour. Labour are doomed.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 10:58<\/p>\n <\/a>SNP MSP Stephen Gethins urges parties to \u2018listen to the voters\u2019 on independence<\/p>\n Independence should be a priority for John Swinney\u2019s newly-returned Scottish government, one of his MSPs has insisted.<\/p>\n Stephen Gethins pointed to the record 73 MSPs elected on Thursday who support independence \u2013 with the SNP winning 58 seats and the Greens taking 15.<\/p>\n The SNP will now go on to form the next government at Holyrood, despite its tally of MSPs being down from the 64 the party won in 2021.<\/p>\n While Mr Gethins said that tackling the cost-of-living crisis would be a priority for Mr Swinney when he begins a new term as first minister, he also said independence should be another key focus.<\/p>\n Throughout the election campaign, Mr Swinney said repeatedly he was seeking to win an overall majority for the SNP so he could press the case again for another referendum on Scotland\u2019s future as part of the UK.<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 10:45<\/p>\n <\/a>Gordon Brown appointed as special envoy, No 10 says<\/p>\n Former prime minister Gordon Brown has been appointed as a special envoy on global finance.<\/p>\n Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer has committed to boosting the country\u2019s security and resilience and \u201cin this role, Gordon Brown will advise on how global finance cooperation can help to achieve this\u201d.<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 10:28<\/p>\n <\/a>Gordon Brown seen at Downing Street amid reports he could return to government<\/p>\n Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has arrived at Downing Street amid reports he is being brought back into government.<\/p>\n Downing Street has yet to confirm what role he has been given, if any.<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 10:18<\/p>\n <\/a>Cabinet minister blames winter fuel U-turn in part for bad results<\/p>\n A cabinet minister has blamed Labour’s winter fuel allowance U-turn for one of the reasons the party returned such poor results in local elections this week. <\/p>\n Speaking to Sky News, environment secretary Emma Reynolds said there was \u201cno sugarcoating\u201d Labour\u2019s results.<\/p>\n “We’ve had bad results in England, Wales and Scotland, and I think the public are sending us a message and we need to listen and reflect on that, which is what we’re doing, that they are dissatisfied with the pace of change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n “I think there’s a real sense of impatience, which I totally get about the scale and the pace of change, and we’ve got to make sure that we step up a gear and start delivering that change for people’s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked what mistakes Labour made leading into the elections, Ms Reynolds said: “I think the winter fuel allowance and the changes to that – which we since corrected – were the wrong thing to do.”<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 10:15<\/p>\n <\/a>Most Labour members think Starmer cannot turn party results around, poll finds<\/p>\n The majority of Labour party members do not believe Sir Keir Starmer can reverse the party\u2019s poor showings in Thursday\u2019s local elections, a new poll has found.<\/p>\n Data from The Guardian shows 45 per cent of Labour members say the prime minister should step down.<\/p>\n The most popular choice to replace him was Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who was chosen by 42 per cent of members.<\/p>\n The poll of more than 1,000 party members showed soaring dissatisfaction with Sir Keir\u2019s leadership among members \u2013 in October just 28 per cent said the prime minister should resign if Labour suffered poor election results in May.<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 10:07<\/p>\n![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2271891346.jpg\")
First minister John Swinney with Stephen Gethins, Heather Anderson and Lloyd Melville (Getty)<\/p>\n
![\"Labour](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/35299116e4e869ebb90e6f3f8ea62f1eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMxNzUwNTY5-2.76750302.jpg\")
Labour peer Baroness Harriet Harman (James Manning\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n