00:00British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is insisting he will stay on in office,
00:05despite mounting pressure from within his own party to resign
00:09following Labour's poor performance in last week's local elections.
00:13He has told his cabinet he takes responsibility for the results,
00:17but says there is still no formal move to trigger a leadership contest.
00:22The election results last week were tough, very tough.
00:28We lost some brilliant Labour representatives.
00:33That hurts. And it should hurt.
00:38I get it. I feel it.
00:42And I take responsibility.
00:45But it's not just about taking responsibility for the results.
00:51It's about taking responsibility to explain how,
00:55as a political and electoral force,
00:58we will be better and do better in the months and years ahead.
01:04Under Labour Party rules, a leadership contest can only be triggered if enough MPs back a challenger,
01:12with the party's current numbers in Parliament that would require around 81 MPs.
01:17At the moment, about 80 Labour MPs have either called for Starmer to resign
01:22or to set out a timeline for his exit.
01:25However, they are not currently united behind any single successor.
01:30Many of those pushing for change are calling for an orderly transition
01:34rather than an immediate challenge.
01:36Starmer, who has been in office for less than two years,
01:39has warned that a leadership contest could undermine political stability
01:43after years of turbulence in UK politics following Brexit.
01:47The local elections last Thursday saw Labour lose more than 1,400 seats
01:53and control in Wales,
01:55while Reform UK and the Greens made gains.
01:58Not plunging our country into chaos as the Tories did time and again.
02:03Chaos that did lasting damage.
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