By GB News (Politics) | Created at 2026-06-21 10:23:19 | Updated at 2026-06-23 21:02:10
2 days ago
Keir Starmer has issued a short statement to mark Father's Day.
The Prime Minister took to the social media platform X to mark the occasion.
He wrote: "Being a dad is my greatest joy.
"Today, I’m thinking about my dad, and the father I am to my children because of him. Happy Father’s Day."
Sir Keir has often referred to his father, Rodney Starmer, who died on December 1, 2018, as a toolmaker in his speeches and interviews.
GB News understands the Prime Minister has spent the weekend at Chequers with his family, as he is expected to announce his departure date as soon as Monday.
A senior ally told The Sun: "I think there is just a 25 per cent chance [Sir Keir] fights on now."
One Labour frontbencher added: "The PM just doesn’t have many friends left. It is about Keir Starmer. He is the problem. If Andy Burnham wasn’t challenging him someone else would be.”
Keir Starmer has issued a short statement to mark Father's Day
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Another senior figure told The Telegraph there had been "quite a bit of movement" among Cabinet ministers since the by-election result.
Calls for Sir Keir to go have been building since Labour took a beating in May’s local elections, with the party losing votes to Nigel Farage's Reform UK and Zack Polanski's Green Party.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly vowed to fight any leadership challenge, insisting he will not "walk away".
But Mr Burnham’s by-election victory has prompted more backbenchers and Labour grandees to call for Sir Keir to stand down.
The Prime Minister took to the social media platform X to mark the occasion.
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One ally of Mr Burnham said: "As Donald Trump would say, Keir Starmer doesn’t hold any cards here. He needs to set out a timetable to go.
"Andy offers a lifeline for all those seats that were going to get smashed out the park by Reform at the next election. It’s a matter of survival."
A Labour MP usually considered to be loyal to the Prime Minister, said he believed Sir Keir would announce his departure date as soon as Monday.
He said: "There’s no one left. Literally people whose relatives work in No10 or people who are long term personal friends of Keir’s are pretty much the only ones left."
