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.

More now from the Scottish first minister, who says there has "been a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament for four elections in a row".

This mandate has been ignored by successive prime ministers, he says, adding that he hopes an SNP majority could break the pattern.

"Although we were very close to achieving this, it hasn't been accomplished," he says as he notes the party now has "more pro-independence MSPs than ever before".

• As a reminder, the SNP won 58 seats, with 65 needed for a majority

Swinney says the results across the UK show why the need for independence is "so urgent", with Reform UK's Nigel Farage "galloping towards Downing Street".

Image source, PA Media

In Edinburgh, First Minister John Swinney has been reacting to the SNP's election victory yesterday.

He tells a press conference that the party has won "emphatically", adding that the people voted "on a landslide" for a pro-independence government that's "on Scotland's side".

The significance of this "cannot be understated", he adds, saying the party was previously on course to lose the election.

"We won a higher share of the vote than Keir Starmer did across the UK in 2024 - an election widely described as a landslide," he says.

He attributes the result to three things: the efforts of SNP candidates and activists, public service improvements and cost-of-living action, and experienced leadership in uncertain times.

Growing number of Labour MPs losing hope Starmer is the person to turn things aroundpublished at 13:31 BST

13:31 BST

Chris Mason
Political editor

The Prime Minister chose the home of AFC Wimbledon in south-west London to meet Labour activists this morning.

I was there as what is known as the pool broadcast reporter, gathering with our team pictures and an interview that would be shared with all the broadcasters. We take it in turns to do this.

The local authority, Merton, was a spot for Labour cheers in the English local elections - the party actually made a gain, winning one more seat than they held before.

Sir Keir Starmer worked the room at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, joining groups of activists at circular tables for a chat and photos.

It was the first time he had appeared in front of the cameras since the full scale of the horror show the electorate delivered on Labour in parts of England, Scotland and Wales became apparent.

He used the same form of words he’d used yesterday, when he said he was “not going to sugarcoat” the result.

He is hoping a widely trailed speech on Monday, where he will talk about a closer relationship with the European Union among other things, will help reassure his own MPs that he has a plan to try to revive Labour’s fortunes.

Starmer acknowledged too that things had been too gloomy in his time in government so far."The hope wasn’t there enough in the first two years of this government,” he said.

The challenge he faces is a growing number of his MPs have lost hope that he is the person to turn things around.

Worse than that for him, many think he is making things worse for them.

Image source, Pool

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey says the party in Scotland is "buzzing with our best result for nearly 20 years". They gained six seats taking their total to 10.

"It’s really critical that we stop the SNP getting a majority; many of the commentators are agreeing that but for the Liberal Democrats... the SNP would be celebrating a majority, and would be talking about another referendum," he says. "That’s the last thing Scotland needs."

The Lib Dems took four constituencies from the SNP in Thursday's elections, and lost one to the party.

Image source, Pool

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is "not calling for a change in leadership" but does want the government to change its "direction of travel" after "bitterly disappointing" results.

This "starts with the top", he tells broadcasters in comments made before we just heard from Starmer.

The government needs to "recognise why we’ve done so badly in London", he says, adding that he repeatedly heard "anger, disillusionment and disappointment" on the doorstep.

On Thursday 21 of London's 32 boroughs were run by Labour, but the map now looks very different with the red blanket having disappeared.

Labour lost Waltham Forest and Hackney to the Greens, and Westminster to the Conservatives. They also lost their control of Barnet, Brent, Enfield, Haringey, Newham, Southwark and Wandsworth, where no parties now have outright majorities. Four London councils are yet to declare - two of those were previously Labour.

Labour also lost out in mayoral races in Hackney and Lewisham, where the Greens secured their first directly-elected mayors.

"The promises made in July 2024 haven’t been delivered," Khan says, before calling for an "acceleration in terms of delivery".

Starmer is asked about appointing former prime minister Gordon Brown and former deputy leader Harriet Harman into new roles points towards a sense of the future.

The prime minister says he wants women to have the opportunities they deserve and he wants to tackle misogyny.

"Harriet working with the team is the absolute right person to do that," he says.

Starmer says that one of the big challenges Britain faces is global finance. He says the war in Iran is causing real problems and is having an economic impact, and there is a need to spend more on defence.

He says Brown has a strong record and can help build a strong economy for the future.

"On both fronts they are very future-looking roles, they're vital to how we strengthen our country and take it forward," he says.

It's put to Starmer that some Labour figures have reported hearing from people that they would not vote Labour because of Starmer.

Starmer responds by saying the results are tough and "of course it hurts", but adds "the right thing to do is to therefore set out the path forward".

He adds: "We made unnecessary mistakes.

"One of which was that we, rightly in my view, levelled with the public about the challenges that we face as a country both on the finances and internationally - but what we didn't do is enough to convince them about the change that would impact them, how their lives would be better.

"The hope wasn't there enough in the first two years of this government."

Starmer says it is important to set out "where hope resides" - in Britain's young people to go as far as they can, and to make sure everybody feels the pride about where they live and where they work, he says.

Starmer is asked about the number of his own MPs calling for him to resign or set a timetable for stepping down.

The prime minister reiterates language he used yesterday, saying he's not going to walk away and "plunge the country into chaos".

"I think the right thing to do is to rebuild and show the path forward," he says, adding: "We did make a number of really important calls in the last couple of years about stabilising the economy, investing in our public services, not getting drawn into the war with Iran.

"We need to couple to that the arguments we are making about hope and the future."

The prime minister is asked if he would stand if he was challenged - Starmer repeats that he is not going to walk away but says that does not mean Labour does not need to respond to the results.

Image source, Pool

We are now hearing from Prime Minister Keir Starmer who is asked by the BBC's Chris Mason, on behalf of broadcasters, for his reaction to the big Labour losses.

Starmer, speaking in south-west London, says "it was really tough" and he is "not going to sugarcoat that".

He says its important to reflect and respond when the electorate send a message like that.

"We have to set out the path ahead and that's what I intend to do in coming days - how we rebuild, how we convince people about hope for the future. And we haven't done enough of that," he says.

Matt Spivey
Live editor

As the dust settles on a heavy set of election losses for the Labour Party, PM Keir Starmer has this morning appointed Labour veterans as advisers.

Here's what you need to know:

• Former PM Gordon Brown is appointed as special envoy on global finance
• Former Deputy Prime Minister Harriet Harman is appointed as an adviser on women and girls
• All seats have been declared in the Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections – in the Senedd, it's Plaid Cymru which has the most seats but not an overall majority, and it's a similar picture for the SNP in Holyrood
• In England, we're still waiting on five council elections to be declared: Bradford, Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets
• These last few results will not change the broader picture – Reform UK made sweeping gains, while Labour and the Conservatives lost big
• We've been hearing from key Labour figures this morning on Starmer's future: Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell tells the BBC a change in approach is needed, but the party needs to stick with Starmer. While, senior Labour MP Clive Betts tells the BBC a timeframe is needed to introduce a new Labour leader within months

Image source, PA Media

The Wales Green Party is "open to having conversations" about how the next Welsh government will be formed, the party leader has said.

Earlier, the deputy leader of Plaid Cymru said her party - which came out top in the election but fell short of an outright majority - would consider co-operating with other "progressive parties" in the Senedd where there is common ground.

Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter welcomed that Reform did not win the vote - coming second with 34 seats out of 96 - and congratulated Plaid Cymru on their result.

"This is a victory for everyone who wanted to keep Reform’s divisive, Trumpian politics out of Wales," he says in a statement.

"When it comes to the next government of Wales, we are open to having conversations, but no decisions have been made at this point," he continues.

"In any negotiations we will be looking to deliver on the Green objectives that people voted on in this election – including action to address the cost-of-living crisis, protecting our NHS, fixing the renting crisis and restoring our natural environment."

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Anna Sabine tells BBC News her party increasing its number of councillors in the eighth consecutive set of local elections in England is "phenomenal".

The Frome and East Somerset MP argues that gains from other parties appear more dramatic as they have come from a much lower base than the Lib Dem.

"When people have a local Liberal Democrat MP, when they have local councillors, they know they get out and do the work and that's why we keep winning," she says.

Pressed on why the Lib Dems have only had one candidate elected to the Welsh Parliament, Sabine concedes that Plaid Cymru and Reform "kind of dominated the narrative there".

But she says it is "not all doom and gloom" as the Lib Dems doubled the number of Scottish MSPs they have and have been successful in England.

Sabine is also pressed on why there is so little speculation about Lib Dem leader Ed Davey being a future prime minister and whether the Lib Dems are a strong enough force in the House of Commons.

She insists the party has been an "extremely effective force in parliament", but adds the party "struggle" with "two extremes on the left and the right" which she says gets "clicks and media attention". But she says people want parties that "do the work".

All results have been declared in the parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales.

In England, we've had almost all the results - 131 councils out of the 136 that held elections on Thursday.

The five council results we're still waiting for are: Bradford, Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets.

We're expecting them to be announced by this evening.

Image source, PA Media

As we’ve just reported, the prime minister has today appointed Gordon Brown as special envoy on global finance, and Harriet Harman has been appointed Starmer's adviser on women and girls.

Gordon Brown is the former Labour prime minister who led the country from 2007-2010, including through the global financial crisis.

This period included the bail-out of the Royal Bank of Scotland - considered the biggest rescue of a bank in the world at the time.

He was also the longest-serving chancellor of the exchequer in modern history, having served in the role for a decade under Tony Blair.

Harriet Harman served as Brown's deputy leader of the Labour Party, and is a member of the House of Lords.

She has held several senior government positions in her career, including two brief stints as acting party leader in 2010 and 2015.

She has been serving as the UK's special envoy for women and girls - a global role appointed by the foreign secretary - since March last year.

Image source, Getty Images