Starmer to promise ‘strength through fairness’ as he battles to stay in No 10

Sir Keir Starmer will promise sweeping changes to address the “big challenges” confronting the UK as he battles to save his job.

The Prime Minister insists his plan will demonstrate “hope, urgency and exactly whose side we are on” after Labour’s disastrous election results in England, Scotland and Wales put his position in peril.

The speech on Monday marks the start of a crunch week for his premiership.

Labour MPs will be encouraged to endorse a leadership challenge if he fails to convince them he can pull the party out of a slump which has seen votes and seats flow to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Zack Polanski’s Green Party.

On Wednesday, the King’s Speech will set out his Government’s priorities for new laws in Parliament.

The Prime Minister will say: “To meet the challenges that our country faces, incremental change won’t cut it.

“On growth, defence, Europe, energy – we need a bigger response than we anticipated in 2024 because these are not ordinary times.

“Strength through fairness. It’s a core Labour argument. And you will see those values writ large in the King’s Speech. And you will see hope, urgency and exactly whose side we are on.”

Sir Keir has acknowledged the early part of his premiership was too gloomy, with ministers setting out the parlous state of the economy and public services they inherited without sufficiently highlighting plans to improve people’s lives.

“People need hope,” he will say. “We will face up to the big challenges and we will make the big arguments.”

Sir Keir will highlight his efforts to build new ties with Brussels, saying: “This Labour Government will be defined by rebuilding our relationship and by putting Britain at the heart of Europe. So that we are stronger on the economy, on trade, on defence, you name it.

“Because standing shoulder to shoulder with the countries that most share our interests, our values and our enemies – that is the right choice for Britain, that is the Labour choice.”

Former minister Catherine West will decide whether to seek the 81 nominations from MPs for a leadership challenge if she is still “dissatisfied” after Sir Keir’s speech.

She has made clear her campaign is an attempt to force the Cabinet to get behind a candidate to move against Sir Keir rather than a credible challenge to win the keys to No 10 herself.

But MPs on Labour’s left have warned against her plan, arguing it could result in a Cabinet “stitch-up” rather than allowing members to vote on the next leader.

There are also suspicions from the left that the move could trigger an early contest which could favour Health Secretary Wes Streeting because Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is still not an MP.

Allies of Mr Streeting have pointed to results in Redbridge, the local authority in his constituency where Labour held on in the face of opposition from pro-Gaza independents, to show that he can retain the Westminster seat he holds with a majority of just 528.

Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said Sir Keir had to “meet the moment and set out the change our country needs” as she called for Mr Burnham’s return to Parliament.

Ms Rayner and Mr Burnham are seen as potential leadership contenders.

Ms Rayner, the former deputy Labour leader, called for a shift to the left in a lengthy statement which set out her vision for the party.

“What we are doing isn’t working, and it needs to change. This may be our last chance,” she said.

The Mandelson scandal showed a “toxic culture of cronyism”, Labour is “in danger of becoming a party of the well-off, not working people” and “it is time to acknowledge that blocking Andy Burnham was a mistake”, she said.

While Ms Rayner stopped short of calling for Sir Keir to go, dozens of MPs from across the party – not just the Prime Minister’s usual critics on the left – have demanded change at the top.

Former minister Josh Simons, who previously led the Labour Together think tank on the party’s right, said: “We Labour MPs must square up to the truth. These elections were not a normal mid-term drubbing, they were an unequivocal judgement that our actions do not meet the moment.

“To put the country first, the PM should lead an orderly transition. Senior figures across the party should urgently come together to agree a path forward.”