Keir Starmer is remaining defiant even as calls to quit intensify

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced fresh calls to resign on Tuesday (May 12), after heavy local and regional election defeats last week.

Starmer has been defiant, saying he would "prove doubters wrong", but calls for his resignation grew louder within his own Labour Party.

Some junior members of his government have already quit in protest, though no one in the Cabinet has resigned or called for a leadership change.

Around 90 Labour lawmakers, making up a fifth of the parliamentary party, have said Starmer should stand down or at least set out a timetable for his departure, international news agency AFP reported.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister of housing, communities and local government, was the first to step down, urging Starmer "to do the right thing for the country".

Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, followed, stating in her resignation letter that Starmer was unable to make bold changes.