Joshua Nevett
Political reporter

Image source, PA Media

Catherine West has made her intentions clear, but what’s the process for challenging a Labour leader?

A leadership election can only be triggered if the leader resigns, or if Labour MPs launch a challenge when there is no vacancy.

A challenger wishing to oust an incumbent leader must be supported by 20% of Labour MPs. Based on the current number of Labour MPs, 81 would need to support a challenger to formally start the process.

MPs must inform the party's general secretary in writing of their nomination if they have enough backers.

Challenger nominees would then need to seek support from 5% of constituency parties or backing from at least three affiliates of the Labour Party (at least two must be trade unions).

Nominees must be Labour MPs, which would rule out potential challengers like Andy Burnham.

If enough support is gathered to initiate a membership ballot, the incumbent leader is automatically on the ballot paper, and they do not need to seek nominations from MPs.

The timing of any contest would be decided by Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC).

West's move takes a lot of MPs by surprisepublished at 17:43 BST

17:43 BST

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Catherine West’s intervention appears to have taken a lot of Labour MPs by surprise.

One minister - themself quite critical of the prime minister - told me: “She’s mad”.

A prominent backbench critic of Starmer said that it was a “totally irresponsible solo mission”.

However, another minister appeared open to West’s gambit, saying: “Let’s see where this goes”.

And another member of the government simply sent me a link to the Pet Shop Boys performing Go West.

Becky Morton
Political reporter

Cabinet minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has just been asked for his reaction to Catherine West’s intervention.

He tells BBC Radio 4’s PM programme he would “caution colleagues” against her proposal to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader.

“We’ve seen over the past 10 years now what happens when a party in government just starts chopping and changing leaders,” he says.

“It just generates instability and it militates against a focus on delivery.”

He adds: “I'm confident going forward that Keir Starmer is the best prime minister for our country.”

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

In the last hour, Labour MP Catherine West issued Keir Starmer's cabinet with an ultimatum after Thursday's election losses - but who is she?

West is the Labour MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet in Greater London, having first been elected in May 2015 to represent Hornsey and Wood Green. She currently sits on the Treasury Committee and also serves as trade envoy to Pakistan.

West was a shadow Foreign Office minister between 2015 and 2017 under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose leadership campaign she supported.

She was later sacked by Corbyn for defying him over a vote on the single market, before returning to the role between 2020 and 2024 under Starmer's leadership.

After Labour's 2024 election victory, she became parliamentary under-secretary in the Foreign Office, a role she held until September 2025.

Whatever happens next, this is a big momentpublished at 17:13 BST

17:13 BST

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

This is a big moment.

Catherine West does not want to be leader of the Labour Party. And she is not going to be leader of the Labour Party.

But she has just kicked off the process by which the Labour Party may have its first leadership election since Keir Starmer was elected in 2020.

West’s plan (which she says she came up with this morning) is this: by Monday, either the cabinet will have ousted Starmer, or West’s colleagues will have a chance to nominate her formally to contest the party leadership.

It is highly unlikely that West would get to the 81 MPs required for there to be a full ballot of party members between her and Starmer.

But suppose she got close? Suppose dozens of Labour MPs backed West as a show of frustration? That might be enough to tempt others to launch a leadership bid.

Or it might fall apart rapidly and prompt Labour MPs to row in behind Starmer, solidifying his position for now.

Let’s see. Whatever happens next, this is a big moment.

Becky Morton
Political reporter

West has not named who she thinks would be the best replacement for Starmer.

"I don't have a candidate. That's part of the problem,” she says.

"But I think there are several people who would like to do it, who have been planning for months, but I'm very surprised that none of them has popped up today to say ‘I will do it’."

She adds: "We need to bring on the person who can really sell Labour values and sell our programme."

West says Starmer has done "excellent" work rebuilding the Labour Party and on foreign policy.

"But what we do worry about is taking the fight to Reform on the domestic agenda, which I think he has less of a grip of, and also trying to identify traditional Labour voters who we've lost so that we can get them back on side and we can win the country in the 2029 general election," she says.

She adds: "We can't just go on with our main spokesperson being Keir."

Becky Morton
Political reporter

Labour MP Catherine West says if a cabinet minister does not put themselves forward to challenge Keir Starmer as party leader by Monday, she will attempt to trigger a leadership contest herself.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet tells Radio 4’s PM programme her preferred option would be for the cabinet to “reorganise themselves” and put forward their “best communicator” to replace the PM, avoiding a leadership election.

However, West says she was putting the cabinet “on notice” and if she does not hear from a leadership hopeful by Monday she would ask Labour MPs to back her to trigger a contest.

For a leadership election to be set in motion, 20% of Labour MPs - 81 people - would have to back a single challenger.

West, a former junior Foreign Office minister, says she currently has 10 people prepared to back her in a leadership bid but she is “confident” enough people would come forward to trigger a contest.

“My preferred option is for the cabinet to do a reshuffle within itself, where there's plenty of talent, and for Keir to be given a different role, which he might enjoy, perhaps an international role,” she says.

“Then for others to come to the fore who can communicate the message, who are very able, so we can have minimum fuss.”

Croydon Council has announced its results, with no party taking control of the authority.

That's the same result as the last election, where neither Labour nor the Conservatives were able to achieve a majority.

We've now had results from 134 councils in England, with two more - Lewisham and Tower Hamlets - expected to declare by this evening.

Image source, PA Media

Among the headlines of Friday's election results was the news that Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan had lost her seat.

After meetings of the party’s Executive Committee and the Welsh Labour group, Member of the Senedd (MS) Ken Skates has been announced as the party's new interim leader.

He was first elected in 2011 and has held several Welsh Government roles including transport secretary and economy and infrastructure secretary. He was re-elected to the Senedd for Fflint Wrecsam yesterday.

Praising Morgan for "her role in history as the first woman to lead our Party and country is an achievement second to none", Skates says today is "just the beginning of a process that will help us to understand what we got wrong".

The PM has thanked Skates for "stepping up", adding that he will "do a fantastic job bringing Welsh Labour together" and holding the new Welsh Government "to account for working people".

Skates will serve as leader until a timetable is set for a full leadership election in line with Welsh Labour rules.

Joshua Nevett
Political reporter

The electoral map is a messy patchwork of colours after this bumper set of elections in England.

This picture reflects the fragmentation of British politics, the breakdown of the dominance long enjoyed by Labour and the Conservatives, and the rise of the Greens and Reform UK.

In practice, that means many more councils not controlled by any one party and in some cases, a grudging acceptance that sharing power is necessary.

So far, 63 councils are in no overall control (NOC) following these elections, an increase of 24.

So what happens next?

The approach will differ depending on the make-up of each council.

If one party is close to a majority, it may attempt to run the council as a minority administration.

But sometimes, the largest party is unable to form a minority administration because a coalition of smaller parties has banded together to make up a majority.

In other places, two, three, four or more parties, or independents, may team up to govern the council as a coalition.

Some councils in NOC can work well together in the spirit of compromise, while others struggle to overcome sharp political differences.

Back in England, Labour has lost Bradford council to no overall control.

It means just three councils are left to declare their results.

Image source, PA Media

Plaid Cymru will seek to form a minority government in Wales, after securing 43 of 96 available seats in the Welsh Senedd, six short of a majority.

That's according to party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, who says Plaid will seek to govern alone in Wales without a coalition after it won the largest bloc in the Senedd from Labour.

Speaking to reporters, ap Iorwerth says that during the election campaign he "made it clear that my desire, were we able to, would be to form a minority government”.

Now, he says it is "clear now we are in that position”.

Earlier on, Wales Green Party's leader Anthony Slaughter suggested his party would be "open to having conversations" about forming the next government.

Colette Hume
BBC Wales reporter

Let's turn back to Wales, where stories are emerging from frantic election counts as Labour lost its grip across the country...

Joshua Kim won the sixth seat at Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni for Reform but missed the count because he was doing a shift as a supply teacher.

Kim tells the BBC he was "shellshocked" and "did not think for one minute" he would be elected, appearing "distraught, utterly shocked and confused".

The supply teacher says he hadn’t told his pupils about his candidacy and wasn’t at the count because it would have meant losing a day’s pay.

The returning officer spent a few minutes trying to find him and couldn't quite believe he wasn't in the hall. He turned up about 45 minutes after as the hall was being reset for a football match.

Now that Lambeth has declared a Labour loss, there are only four more count results to come from English councils:

• Croydon
• Lewisham
• Tower Hamlets
• Bradford

As a reminder, all the counts in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments have finished. The SNP and Plaid Cymru fell just short of securing majorities in Holyrood and the Senedd respectively.

Labour has lost control of Lambeth in south London, with no party winning an outright majority.

The Greens are the largest party, with 29 seats, and Labour are second with 26.

Labour has controlled Lambeth since 2006. After the 2022 elections, Labour had 54 seats with the Greens and Lib Dems both on four.

The council is where Starmer's former right-hand man, Morgan McSweeney, helped run a successful Labour campaign to retake it in 2006.

McSweeney resigned as Starmer's chief of staff in February over the appointment of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador.

Labour MPs have put Starmer on notice - can he turn it round?published at 15:15 BST

15:15 BST

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

"Over to you Keir," says a senior minister, not mincing his words.

Not everyone in the Labour Party wants there to be a challenge to the leadership, but even Sir Keir Starmer's most loyal ministers are pushing him to change - and fast.

The prime minister is nothing if not a determined man. But can he show he can turn it round?

Millions of voters have told him they aren't impressed with what he's been doing in 22 months of government - and, as each hour passes, more of his colleagues are going public to say, neither are they.

The powerful unions, who still pay the party's bills, have put the prime minister on notice, too. One of their leaders told me: "It's been a slow motion car crash – we need a concrete promise that things will change."

Labour has been battered at these elections - and it being expected makes it no less painful.

• You can read Laura Kuenssberg's analysis in full here

Image source, x/Keir Starmer

As we have been reporting, Keir Starmer has appointed two of Labour's most senior veterans as advisers following heavy election losses.

The prime minister appeared outside No 10 alongside Harriet Harman on Saturday morning before also being pictured alongside former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

A video has now been shared on Starmer's social media accounts showing him meeting the two Labour heavyweights at Downing Street.

At one point Starmer and Brown can be seen sharing a joke with Chancellor Rachel Reeves while at another point in the clip the prime minister can be seen having a hot drink with Baroness Harman.

The appointments have been met with bafflement and anger by Labour MPs, writes our chief political correspondent, with one Labour politician describing how retreating to figures from the past was "insulting".

Image source, X/Keir Starmer

Image source, Reuters

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's appointment as a special envoy on global finance is a "future-looking" role, according to Keir Starmer.

But as our political correspondent reports, there is confusion among MPs on how employing a Labour figure from the past signifies change.

Here's some more reaction to today's news as Starmer shapes Labour's response to its local election losses:

• "An unpopular Prime Minister who lost a general election is now seen by Starmer as being the saviour," Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says
• Labour MP Luke Charters defended Brown's record, writing: "Gordon Brown has dedicated his life to fighting child poverty"
• Meanwhile Charters' Labour colleague MP John Slinger says Brown's appointment is "Keir Starmer getting on with the day job" and calls him "a serious" figure "doing serious work"
• "Gordon Brown sold the gold and caused a debt crisis," Conservative MP Nick Timothy responds, referring to Brown's decision to sell tonnes of the UK's gold reserves between 1999 and 2002 when he was chancellor

While the overall picture in England has been clear for some time now - dramatic gains for Reform and losses for Labour - we're still waiting for results in five English councils.

Four of the five are in London:

• Croydon
• Lambeth
• Lewisham
• Tower Hamlets
• Bradford

In three of these councils, voters have also been electing new mayors: Labour lost their mayor in Lewisham to the Greens, while the Conservatives and Aspire have held on to Croydon and Tower Hamlets respectively.

We're expecting the full sweep by this evening.

Starmer's MPs want a better understanding of his plan to resolve their political predicamentpublished at 14:15 BST

14:15 BST

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

It’s clearly bad news for the prime minister to have so many Labour MPs calling for his departure.

But there are crucial elements of a political coup which have not materialised, at least so far.

Lucy Powell, the deputy leader elected in defiance of Sir Keir and his allies, has remained loyal. The cabinet has stayed on board - although some of their statements are strikingly carefully phrased. No junior ministers have quit.

Against that surprisingly calm backdrop, though, the appointments of Gordon Brown and Baroness Harman appear to have made things worse - prompting an outpouring of bafflement and anger.

One normally loyal minister says: “It’s a joke. There is no question to which bringing these two back is the answer.”

Another Labour MP says retreating to figures from the past was “insulting”.

The stakes for Sir Keir’s speech on Monday are unimaginably high. The prime minister says he wants to give the country a better understanding of the values that animate him.

His MPs crave a better understanding of his plan to solve their political predicament.