Miatta Fahnbulleh resigns from government and calls for Starmer to quit
'The message on the doorstep was clear: you, Prime Minister, have lost the trust and confidence of the public'
Miatta Fahnbulleh – the minister for devolution, faith and communities – has resigned from the government and called for Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for a transition to a new leader.
Fahnbulleh is the first government minister to tender her resignation since the disastrous local elections for the Labour Party. While she is a junior minister and not a member of the cabinet, her resignation nonetheless adds significant pressure on Starmer’s embattled leadership.
In her resignation statement, Fahnbulleh said: “While progress has been made, we have not acted with the vision, pace and ambition that our mandate for change demands of us. Nor have we governed as a Labour Party clear about our values and strong in our convictions. Mistakes such as the winter fuel payment and cuts to the support provided to disabled people have left too many of my constituents doubting our mission. And the message on the doorstep was clear: you, Prime Minister, have lost the trust and confidence of the public.”
She went on to say: “I urge you to do the right thing for the country and for the Party and set a timetable for an orderly transition so that a new team can deliver the change we promised the country.”
Fahnbulleh’s resignation follows the departure of three Parliamentary Private Secretaries from the government frontbench, and more Labour MPs publicly calling for him to resign.
It also comes as Starmer is facing a crunch cabinet meeting to determine his future, at which he has reiterated his determination to continue as prime minister.
Starmer reportedly told that cabinet meeting: “As I said yesterday, I take responsibility for these election results and I take responsibility for delivering the change we promised.
“The past 48 hours have been destabilising for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families.
“The Labour party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered.
“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet.”
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: UK Parliament – Creative Commons
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