Keir Starmer has been given eight months to save his job as Labour MPs lose faith in his ability to change the government’s fortunes.
Left-winger Richard Burgoyne claimed the prime minister “will be gone” if next May’s election is as disastrous as the party fears.
Voters will go to the polls in Scotland, Wales and across England in what will be seen as a referendum on Starmer’s leadership of the country.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Burgon – who was one of the Labour MPs who lost the party whip for voting to pass the two-child benefit limit last year – said: “Many MPs are looking to an election in May next year.
“The exit polls are showing that it’s going to be a complete disaster, unfortunately, and there’s going to be an election in the Scottish Parliament, an election in the Welsh Senedd, an election in London, an election that’s literally the whole country and the opinion polls right now are showing that it’s going to be a disaster.”
“I think it’s inevitable that if the May election happens as people predict, and the opinion polls predict, then I think Starmer will be gone by then.”
His remarks were echoed by Diane Abbott, the senior MP who lost the Labour whip after hours in July.
She told Times Radio: “I don’t want to say we should have a new leader tomorrow, but we know there will be a big set of elections in May, including Scotland and Wales.
“And we know that everyone is saying, including the Scottish and Welsh MPs, that we are going to do badly in them. And I think that if we do as badly as people are saying, well, then Starmer’s future as Labour leader and Labour prime minister will really be over.”
She added that while she hopes he will lead the party in the next general election, that is unlikely if “things continue to go as they are”.
“All I can say is that a lot of MPs are very unhappy,” she added. “He’s just not in a good place.”
Burgon’s comments came a day after another Labour MP, Graham Stringer, said Starmer was “thrilling the halls of last resort”.
He told Times Radio: “He seems incapable of making quick, reasoned decisions and explaining them politically. He seems to lack the basic skills that most politicians have. He is an example of an intelligent, skilled person, at the top of his profession, whose skills are not transferable to politics. And what happens? You get the government being shut down on the sidelines.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with MPs. You don’t start a conversation by saying, ‘Isn’t Keir poor?’ or ‘Does he make mistakes?’ It’s taken into account that he’s bad at this job.
“He’s taking the last options in the salon now. He needs to control the main critical issues. It seems like he’s stepping back and leaving that to other people.”
Questions about the prime minister’s future have intensified in the past two weeks after a disastrous reshuffle of his government.
Starmer announced two weeks ago that he was entering the “second phase” of his administration, revealing a shake-up in No. 10 staff.
But he has since lost his deputy Angela Rayner, was forced to make a major reshuffle of his cabinet and had to sack Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington over his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Abbott also called on the Prime Minister to replace his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, for his support of Peter Mandelson.
But Baroness Smith, the Minister for Women and Equalities, supported the Prime Minister.
Asked about Burgon’s comments on BBC Breakfast, she said: “Richard Burgon has never supported this Prime Minister. He was effectively temporarily stripped of his whip because he was unable to support the government.”
“The fact that he now thinks the prime minister should go is actually not news.”
