{"id":33715,"date":"2026-05-11T12:45:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/33715\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T12:45:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:45:27","slug":"starmer-pledges-to-bring-britain-closer-to-the-eu-as-he-faces-calls-to-step-down-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/33715\/","title":{"rendered":"Starmer pledges to bring Britain closer to the EU as he faces calls to step down"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON \u2013 Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> pledged Monday to prove the \u201cdoubters\u201d in his own party and among the electorate as a whole wrong as he tries to fight off demands to step down<\/a> after devastating local election results<\/a> for his Labour Party.<\/p>\n

Starmer argued that he will \u201cface up to the big challenges\u201d and restore hope to the country, in part by forging closer ties with the European Union, six years after the U.K.’s acrimonious departure from the bloc.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I have my doubters and I know I need to prove them wrong, and I will,\u201d Starmer said during a speech in London. He vowed to prove to millions of people \u201ctired of a status quo that has failed them\u201d that the government is on their side.<\/p>\n

He said Labour is in \u201ca battle for the soul of our nation,\u201d and warned Britain will go down \u201ca dark path\u201d if Reform UK<\/a>, the anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage, comes to power.<\/p>\n

Starmer is warned it’s his last chance<\/p>\n

Labour lawmaker Catherine West, who had vowed to trigger a leadership challenge if the speech didn\u2019t mark a major turning point, said she would hold off for now, though she urged Starmer to resign by September. Dozens of other lawmakers also have urged him to announce a departure date.<\/p>\n

Labour has been plunged into gloom by heavy losses last week in local elections across England and legislative votes in Scotland and Wales. The elections have been interpreted as an unofficial referendum<\/a> on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he swept to power in a landslide less than two years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, a powerful lawmaker often seen as a potential challenger, said \u201cwhat we are doing isn\u2019t working, and it needs to change.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rayner did not explicitly call for Starmer to quit, but accused him of presiding over \u201ca toxic culture of cronyism\u201d and said the government must \u201cstay true to Labour and social democratic values\u201d and ease the cost of living for working people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis may be our last chance,\u201d Rayner said on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Starmer’s government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services<\/a> and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by repeated missteps and policy U-turns<\/a> on issues including welfare reform. He has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson<\/a>, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain\u2019s ambassador to Washington.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s elections saw Labour squeezed from both right and left, losing votes to both Reform UK and the \u201ceco-populist\u201d Green Party. The result reflects the increasing fragmentation of British politics, long dominated by Labour and the Conservatives.<\/p>\n

Starmer hopes to regain momentum with Monday\u2019s speech and an ambitious set of legislative plans to be set out in a speech Wednesday by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.<\/p>\n

He told an audience of party lawmakers and activists that the government will take control of Britain’s energy, economic and defense security and make the country fairer. He announced plans to nationalize what is left of the once-mighty British Steel, a move that could save some industrial jobs in an area where working-class voters have deserted Labour for Reform UK.<\/p>\n

Starmer also pledged to put Britain \u201cat the heart of Europe\u201d and forge closer ties with the 27-nation EU, which the United Kingdom left in 2020. Farage, who spearheaded the Brexit campaign, and Reform UK oppose any move to get closer to the EU. <\/p>\n

Brexit has been a drag on the British economy, and President Donald Trump’s \u201cAmerica First\u201d economic and foreign policy has spurred Britain to seek closer defense, security and economic cooperation with its European neighbors.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s government has already moved to ease trade restrictions with the EU, and he said he will secure a youth mobility deal so young people can spend a few years working across the continent.<\/p>\n

Labour supporters are largely anti-Brexit, which failed to deliver the benefits its backers promised. But Starmer has been reluctant to reopen a debate that bitterly divided the country. He has ruled out seeking to reenter the EU, or to rejoin the bloc’s customs union or single market, things that would make a big economic difference.<\/p>\n

Rivals weigh making a move<\/p>\n

None of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers to Starmer \u2014 including Rayner, Health Secretary Wes Streeting<\/a> and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham<\/a> \u2014 has yet called for him to resign.<\/p>\n

West, who had threatened to run against Starmer for the Labour leadership if he didn’t give a barnstorming speech, said she would instead ask fellow lawmakers to back a timetable for a new leader to be elected in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is best for the party and country now is for an orderly transition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Several dozen Labour lawmakers have already urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.<\/p>\n

But some who attended Starmer’s speech said kicking out the man who led them to victory in 2024 would be counterproductive.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can’t be changing prime ministers two years in,\u201d said Kevin Craig, a former local councilor in London. \u201cIt’s really important we stay grown-up now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON \u2013 Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged Monday to prove the \u201cdoubters\u201d in his own party and among…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7786,5172,13,14298,1360,6676,15452,94,1049,5035,4108,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-33715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"tag-andy-burnham","9":"tag-angela-rayner","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-catherine-west","12":"tag-elections","13":"tag-jeffrey-epstein","14":"tag-josh-simons","15":"tag-keir-starmer","16":"tag-king-charles-iii","17":"tag-peter-mandelson","18":"tag-wes-streeting","19":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116556013359946660","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}