Oust me if you can: Britain’s Starmer challenges mutinous party

BREAKING NEWSMay. 12, 2026, 9:56 AM UTCUnited KingdomUnited KingdomOust me if you can: Britain’s Starmer challenges mutinous partyThe prime minister defiantly doubled down Tuesday, insisting he would remain in office despite mounting demands to step down after disastrous election results.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on May 5Carl Court / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Alexander SmithLONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer dug his heels in Tuesday and defied widespread calls to resign.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Teetering under pressure from a Trump ally, British voters — and now senior members of his own party — Starmer vowed to keep fighting for his political life in the wake of a damaging electoral thumping.A series of errors and U-turns have left Starmer polling as the most unpopular British leader on record, less than two years after he led his Labour Party to a landslide victory. Dismay with his rule reached a crescendo last week after Labour was humiliated in the country’s midterms-style elections, with many voters saying they were specifically punishing Starmer himself.By Tuesday morning, more than 80 lawmakers with Starmer’s Labour Party had called for him to go, including several members of his own government. They fear inaction will lead to Labour being smashed by hard-right Reform UK, led by Trump ally Nigel Farage, at the next national election. But in a crunch meeting with ministers inside No. 10 Downing St. early Tuesday, Starmer faced down the growing mutiny.“I take responsibility for these election results and I take responsibility for delivering the change we promised,” Starmer said, according to his office “ The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet.”Starmer vowed to stay in office in a speech Monday that only seemed to intensify in...