At an address to the party faithful in London, Starmer had made an impassioned plea to both his party and voters to stick with him and avoid a leadership contest he said would only bring chaos, promising to be bolder.

Senior Labour MPs urge prime minister to step down within year as party suffers loss of hundreds of English council seats and humbling in Wales

Sir Keir Starmer is facing what looks like a coordinated attempt to get him to set a timetable for his departure.