Sir Keir Starmer will not resign even if Labour suffers very heavy losses at the May local elections, says a Cabinet minister.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds braced the party for dismal results in just over a month’s time, stressing many people may use the elections to voice a “protest” vote in the cost-of-living crisis deepening due to Donald Trump’s Iran war.
Even before America and Israel started its airstrikes on Iran in late February, Labour and Sir Keir were deeply unpopular in the UK, hitting record lows in polls including in London.
Asked on Sky News, if there was a level of Labour support below which that collectively or personally Sir Keir would think it’s time to go, Ms Reynolds said: “No.
“The Prime Minister has shown great leadership over the Middle East conflict.
“He has not let the UK be dragged into this war.
“That is something that the Conservative and the Reform leader would have had done and then they backtracked on that when they saw the impact back at home.”
But with Labour facing losing possibly half its seats in London, some 600, she added: “Incumbent governments don’t always do well at local elections because people can cast their vote often as a protest vote but we will fight for every vote.
“We are focusing on how we help people to ease the cost of living, whether it’s the reduction in energy bills, increase in the National Minimum Wage, increase in state pension.”
Sir Keir summoned business leaders to Downing Street on Monday to address the impact of the Iran war, after repeatedly warning firms not to rip off people and make excess profits by ramping up prices.
The Prime Minister met senior representatives from the energy, shipping and financial services industries amid warnings the UK could suffer serious economic damage as a result of the conflict.
Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supplies are transported, by targeting more than a dozen tankers since the start of the conflict.
The move has triggered the biggest ever oil supply shock, sending petrol and diesel prices in the UK and other countries rising sharply.
The RAC said the average cost of a litre of diesel at UK forecourts has hit 181.2p, up 27% from 142.4p on February 28, the day the war in the Middle East began.
Average petrol prices have reached 152.0p per litre, a rise of 14% from 132.8p over the same period.
In the increasingly volatile world, Sir Keir pledged to “fight for our values” as he kicked off Labour’s local election campaign on Monday in the West Midlands.
Labour approaches the May 7 elections struggling in the polls and facing challenges from both Nigel Farage’s Reform UK to the right and Zack Polanski’s Green Party to the left which stormed to victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Amid the predictions of heavy losses, the Prime Minister began the campaign urging the country to “stand together” against the "uncertain" backdrop of the Iran and Ukraine wars.
He urged campaigners to go to the doorstep and tell the public to "vote Labour because of our values, vote Labour because of our leadership," with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch having backtracked on some of her early support for Trump’s war.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and most of his Cabinet filed into the event in Wolverhampton ahead of Sir Keir’s speech.
He stressed: “Our opponents respond to this war on two fronts by dividing our communities.
“We meet this test by unlocking the pride that is our communities.”
But May’s local elections represent a major test for the Prime Minister, with some warning a disastrous result could spell the end of his premiership.
Pollster Lord Hayward warned earlier in March that Labour faced a “very substantial” threat, especially following a series of “absolutely horrendous” council by-election results.
Sir Keir’s personal ratings, though, have risen slightly over his handling of the war.
But Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “Under Labour, Britain isn’t working.
“Rachel Reeves has stifled growth with her tax hikes and economic incompetence.
“And Ed Miliband, who is running the country, has sacrificed our energy security on the altar of his net-zero zealotry.”
