Starmer should carry on as PM, but 'more of the same is not acceptable', says Harriet Harman

Sir Keir Starmer should continue as prime minister despite Labour's devastating election results - but needs to make changes because "more of the same is not acceptable", former deputy leader Harriet Harman has said.

It comes after Labour suffered huge losses in the elections across England, Scotland and Wales.

The party have so far lost more than 1,300 councillors across England - resulting in the loss of control of 37 local authorities - as well as the Senedd in Wales for the first time since its inception in 1999, and struggled in Scotland.

Worrying too was that they faced attacks from either side of the political spectrum - with Reform UK and the Greens big winners.

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Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman said: "There needs to be a consensus built and led by Keir Starmer about what the government is going to do differently, because more of the same is not acceptable.

"The country is entitled to a government that actually delivers on its manifesto, but more than that, they're entitled to a government and a prime minister who gives them a sense of direction of where the country's going and hope for the future.

"So it's not just about delivering the nuts and bolts, it's about a narrative, it's about telling the story where people can all feel the country's getting better."

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There had been much talk in the lead up to the elections about Sir Keir possibly facing a leadership challenge if Labour performed poorly at the elections - with Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting, and Andy Burnham all thought to be frontrunners should one be triggered.

However, despite the size of Labour's defeat becoming apparent on Saturday, a leadership challenge has yet to materialise.

Sir Keir appeared defiant when he reflected on Labour's "very tough" results, insisting: "I'm not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos."

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Baroness Harman said: "[He is] clearly determined to fulfil his responsibility, having been elected less than two years ago, to actually deliver the changes that he promised the country from his position of being prime minister.

"And although there has been endless talk about challenges, none of us three on this podcast did think that it would materialise.

"But that doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of concern, and it doesn't also mean that it doesn't have a very undermining effect on the government and very distracting.

"I think that bearing in mind there clearly isn't going to be a challenge. A lot of people were saying 'well, we're not going to push him out now, but he'll have to be gone after the May election'.

"Well, we're after the May election and there's no sign of a challenge."

Baroness Harman said Labour MPs had a "choice" and the "choice surely that they should make is to be part of and help the government do better and deliver the change that they promised".

She added: "But more than that, really listen and learn the lessons. But I think really that they need to move on from that to really a practical discussion of learning the lessons and a debate about the way forward."

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