‘Things need to change’ - South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard calls for Keir Starmer to step down
Oliver Coppard is the latest high profile figure to add fuel to pressure surrounding Keir Starmer’s future at No.10
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has called for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down from his position as Prime Minister.
Mr Coppard was the first of Labour’s three Yorkshire mayors to call for Sir Keir to go following the party’s disastrous local election, with Labour losing a majority in Barnsley for the first time in the borough’s history and only winning three of 28 wards in Sheffield as both Reform and the Green Party made major gains.
Referencing those results, in a scathing verdict towards the Prime Minister’s overall leadership, Coppard told LBC that the general consensus is that things are heading in the right direction locally and that the outcome of the vote is simply down to what people are seeing nationally instead.
Coppard told LBC: “I genuinely don’t think that was a reflection of what people think about the improvements or otherwise in South Yorkshire.
“I think there is a general consensus that we are heading in the right direction.
“It was a result of what we are seeing nationally, and what I said was things need to change.”
Mr Coppard went on to say that he’d like to see the Labour Party have a new leader by the end of the summer.
He added: “My view would be the Prime Minister should set out a timetable for him to hand over the leadership and there should be a contest within the Labour Party, with the widest possible range of views on display.
“Then we can have a new Prime Minister in place, probably by the back end of the summer.”
Mr Coppard’s comments come after dozens of MPs from the region also urged the Prime Minister to leave his post at No.10 as pressure continues to intensify.
However, Sir Keir has indicated he will not step aside. He said earlier this month: "No, we've got a lot of work to do.
"I'm very focused on what I consider to be my responsibility, my duty, and that is to the country."
Mr Coppard refused to be drawn on who he would like to succeed the Prime Minister, but did cite Andy Burnham and his “experience when it comes to being a mayor and devolution”.
Burnham, who has been serving as the Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, has pledged “maximum devolution of power and resources” from national to local government, after saying what has been offered by Labour “simply isn’t good enough”.