THE VOTES ARE in, and no one likes Keir Starmer. At least, that’s the conclusion being drawn from last week’s elections in England, Scotland and Wales.

At a purely technical level, Starmer was not on the ballot, but that did not stop Nigel Farage and his team from using the slogan “Vote Reform, Get Starmer Out”.

The events of the past week would suggest that that message was bang on the money.

Starmer and his wife Victoria depart 10 Downing Street to attend the State Opening of Parliament in London on Wednesday. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Last Thursday, Reform hoovered up votes by the thousand. In England, they gained 1,452 council seats. Labour lost 1,498. In Wales, Reform won 34 seats, having previously had none.

Labour limped home with nine, having previously been the government. Reform even grew its vote share in Scotland, winning 17 seats, giving it the same representation in Edinburgh as Labour.

Labour’s electoral pain was not inflicted by Reform alone – the Greens, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrats, and Scottish National Party (SNP) all significantly contributed to Labour’s collapse.

Nigel Farage's Reform Party has caused ripples in UK politics in recent weeks. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Despite this, a significant number of senior Labour figures seem to have read Reform’s slogan as a prophecy and are now focusing their time on trying to make it come true.

The calls for Starmer to resign began long before the elections. Anas Sarwar, Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, sensing that Starmer was a drag on his own electoral prospects, called on him to step down in February. Back then, the Cabinet rallied behind Starmer. No longer.

Mutterings of a heave

On Monday, Home Secretary Shababa Mahmood told Starmer to resign. A day later, the stakes were raised. Four ministers – Miatta Fahnbulleh, Jess Philips, Alex Davies-Jones and Zubir Ahmed – joined calls for Starmer to resign and quit their........

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