Pat McFadden has warned Labour MPs against ‘swiping left’ on Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, as the party braces for a difficult set of local election results
Labour rebels have been warned not to “swipe left” on Keir Starmer as election fever sends Westminster into a total meltdown. With local elections looming and Downing Street jitters reaching a record high, one of the PM’s closest confidants has told MPs to stop looking for a new match.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden hit out at talk of a leadership coup, telling grumbling backbenchers that ditching the boss won’t fix Britain’s problems.
In a blunt message to the party, McFadden warned Labour against falling into the “chopping and changing” trap that saw the Conservatives burn through five Prime Ministers in almost as many years.
He made it clear that Starmer isn’t going anywhere without a fight, urging the rank-and-file to stay loyal instead of ghosting the leadership at the first sign of trouble.
Mr McFadden told LBC: “I think that the country has tested to destruction the idea that the answer to our problems is swiping left on the choice of Prime Minister.
“It’s happened quite a lot in recent years. It hasn’t resolved our problems, and I don’t think it would resolve our problems today and I’m not alone in that opinion.
“John Major, the former prime minister, spoke out the other day. He said Britain has changed its Prime Minister too much in recent years.
“I know our Prime Minister. He is dedicated to public service. He came into office to do a job. He will keep doing that job right through this week and in the weeks to come, and he will do that with my support.”
It comes as millions of voters prepare to head to polling stations on Thursday in crucial elections across England, Wales and Scotland.
The battles represent Labour’s most significant electoral challenge since its overwhelming victory in 2024 – and could prove decisive in shaping Starmer’s destiny.
Polling experts have forecast that Labour could lose hundreds of councillors across England, surrender control of the Welsh Parliament and fall significantly short of success in Scotland, in a disastrous set of outcomes, reports the Mirror.
Labour rifts may erupt in the wake of such results, with the PM’s supporters intensifying efforts to fend off any challenge to his leadership.
Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting have been touted as potential candidates for the top position, yet both seem hesitant to make their move.
Andy Burnham has voiced his leadership aspirations openly, though his absence from Parliament rules him out of any leadership race.
Writing in the Mirror, the Prime Minister said: “Politics is about choices. The choices that affect you and your family. On Thursday, when you go to put your vote in the ballot box, there’s a clear choice on that piece of paper.
“Unity or division. Progress versus the politics of anger. The right plan for our country up against easy answers that will lead us nowhere.”
He added: “Farage, Badenoch and Polanski have proven they cannot meet this moment. But my Labour Government is.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.