Labour has been plunged into civil war as a growing number of Sir Keir Starmer’s MPs demand he quits following disastrous local election results.
Several ministers have now resigned and joined the chorus of backbenchers calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation.
During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Sir Keir told his ministers that he would be getting on with governing and pointed out that no formal challenge to his leadership had been triggered.
Several senior ministers rallied around the Prime Minister following the meeting.
But speculation is mounting that some senior Labour MPs are gearing up to launch a leadership bid.
Here are the three way the Prime Minister could be ousted:
Keir Starmer Resigns
Sir Keir could announce he intends to resign after pressure from his MPs and trigger a Labour leadership contest.
He could stay on until a new leader is chosen but if he left office immediately an interim Prime Minister, likely someone not in the running for the Labour leadership, would be chosen to step in.
Potential candidates must have the support of a fifth, or 81, of Labour’s 403 MPs to be considered in the race.
Direct Challenge
Sir Keir could face a direct challenge from one or more of his Labour MPs.
Over the weekend, backbencher Catherine West threatened to mount a bid if the Cabinet did not remove Sir Keir by Monday.
She acknowledged she did not have the support to actually challenge the PM but emailed Labour colleagues to see if they would back her demand for him to set a timetable for the election of a new leader in September.
The Hornsey and Friern Barnet MP has since shied away from seeking to trigger an immediate leadership contest now, as threatened over the weekend.
Candidates with the required 81 MP supporters would then have to receive the backing of 5% of local constituency parties, or three party affiliates - two of which must be trade unions.
Affiliates are groups with interests consistent with those of the Labour movement and include trade unions, co-operatives and socialist societies.
Sir Keir would not be required to gather support as he would automatically be added to the ballot if he chose to contest the leadership election.
Labour members would then vote for their preferred leader and the winner would be the first candidate to secure more than 50% of the vote.
Sir Keir would continue as Prime Minister during any contest. No Labour PM has ever faced a formal leadership challenge from their MPs.
No Confidence Vote
Sir Keir could face a no-confidence vote tabled by the main opposition.
The Prime Minister must have the "confidence" of the Commons to govern, meaning they are supported by a majority of MPs.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch could call a motion of no confidence, which the Government would be expected to provide parliamentary time to debate and a vote.
If the Government lost the vote, a general election would usually be called.
But with 403 of the 650 MPs in the Commons being Labour members, it is extremely unlikely such a vote would succeed.
