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Leadership battle would be gift to Farage, says Starmer

January 05, 2026

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The Independent

Sir Keir Starmer has warned rivals inside Labour not to move against him, saying that would “gift” Nigel Farage the next general election, as speculation over his future mounts.

- KATE DEVLIN

Leadership battle would be gift to Farage, says Starmer

The Labour leader also insisted he will still be prime minister next year despite fears his party is on course to suffer huge losses at elections across the UK in May.

In an interview designed to draw a line under a difficult 2025, he said frequent leadership changes were not in the “national interest” amid speculation that some senior Labour figures including health secretary Wes Streeting and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham are considering bids to replace him.

In his first interview of 2026, with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, the Labour leader dismissed the speculation and said he would still be PM this time next year.

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