Sheffield MPs call on resignation of Prime Minister to save the Labour party after make or break speech
It comes after disastrous local election results for Labour
Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the nation at 10am on Monday (May 11) in a speech that many have called a make or break moment for his government.
Despite winning an incredible majority in the 2024 General Election, the Labour party has become increasingly unpopular over the last two years, culminating in one of the worst local election turnouts in the party’s history.
Reform UK and the Greens made major gains across South Yorkshire, while Labour lost their 50 year hold of Barnsley council and Sheffield City Council leader Tom Hunt lost his seat.
Many laid the blame at Starmer’s feet, including Sheffield MPs Abtisam Mohammed and Louise Haigh who called on the PM to set out a timetable for his resignation over the weekend.
”I’m not going to walk away,” Starmer said in his speech today as he promised to fight any potential Labour contest and rebuild trust in his government.
He added: “I’m not going to shy away from the fact that I’ve got some doubters, including my own party.
“And I’m not going to shy away from the fact that I have to prove them wrong - and I will.
“I had my doubters when I took on the Labour party. I had my doubters who said we couldn’t change this party and make it capable of winning an election, and I proved them wrong.”
While the Prime Minister undoubtedly hoped that this effort would restore faith from those within his party, the feeling in Sheffield remains fractured.
Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts complimented the PM’s speech, but questioned whether it would actually ‘change public opinion’, as he reaffirmed his belief that a change in leadership is needed.
So far, four of Sheffield’s MPs have called on the PM’s resignation, while Gill Furniss, MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, failed to respond to The Star’s request for comment.
Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet has sent an email to all MPs calling for them to support her bid to have a new Prime Minister in place by September, yet none of the local MPs have publicly endorsed this plan as of yet.
Clive Betts - Sheffield South East MP
“I think [he said] much good stuff, I’m concerned about whether it’s really amounted to something that will change public opinion,” Mr Betts said of Starmer’s speech.
He called on the cabinet to ‘take responsibility’ and move forward with setting out a timeline for a transition in leadership.
Beyond that, he told The Star that the party need to prioritise issues that are important to the voting public.
He added: “Well obviously there are things that we ought to be doing, that we haven’t done terrible well at so far - with the cost of living and energy costs we have got to up the game.”
Housing, and improving economic growth were also issues he pointed to.
“I cannot stand by and see good hard working councillors and candidates lose due to no fault of their own,” he posted on Facebook.
“On the doorstep I was repeatedly told by voters that they would not vote Labour until the Prime Minister was replaced. We cannot ignore that.”
And while he remains critical of the current government, he has not aligned with any leadership contest at this time.
“No I have not been involved in any campaign, in any group,” he told The Star.
“I simply said what I heard on the doorsteps, that to me is the key point.”
Louise Haigh - Sheffield Heeley MP
The Star called Ms Haigh’s office and were told that the MP would not be providing any new comment from what she had previously said on Friday (May 8).
At the election count in the International Sports Centre, she told ITV that Starmer is doing an ‘incredible job’ dealing with international problems, however is failing to win over voters at home.
“I think what is abundantly clear is that unless the government delivers significant and urgent change, then the Prime Minister can not lead us into another election,” she said.
Speaking to the BBC, she added: “The government needs to listen and respond to how the public have voted today.”
Olivia Blake - Sheffield Hallam MP
Ms Blake similarly told broadcast news about the failures of Starmer’s government at the elections count last Friday.
“My heart goes out to all the hardworking councillors - they have been punished for decisions that weren’t taken by them,” she said to the BBC.
She said that Starmer would not be leading the party into the next election as she insisted their needed to be plans for the future.
“I think we are kidding ourselves if we think that Keir Starmer will be leading us into the next election,” she added.
“There needs to be a plan now for what comes next.”
Abtisam Mohammed - Sheffield Central MP
“We need leadership that brings people together. The Prime Minister should now agree a clear transition and timeline for new leadership that can do that,” Ms Mohamed wrote on Facebook the night of the election count.
She explained that the party risks drifting away from the communities they serve, with Kier Starmer’s unpopularity coming up ‘again and again’ when talking to voters on the doorstep.
Additionally, she said that the public are ‘angry’ and feel like the party is failing to listen to them.
She continued: “We need real Labour values: opportunity for young people, support for small businesses, defending the right to protest and jury trials, standing up for international law consistently and speaking plainly about war crimes being committed in Gaza and the West Bank, and rejecting rhetoric that scapegoats migrants instead of solving problems.
“I came into politics to fight for real change and that hasn’t changed, but I won’t follow blindly.”