A rebel London MP has vowed to trigger a Labour leadership contest on Monday morning if Keir Starmer does not step down after the disastrous local elections for the party.
Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, called for the Prime Minister to set out a plan for his departure and for an "orderly transition".
Former Foreign Office minister Ms West said Sir Keir's approach was "not cutting through" and the risk was that Nigel Farage would become Prime Minister.
She told Evening Standard: "That's why, with regret and significant sadness, I firmly believe that Keir should outline his intention to resign as Prime Minister and oversee an orderly transition.
“The Labour Party need the chance to have an honest conversation about how we deliver the change we promised in 2024, and that requires new leadership which understands the urgent and real concerns of people across the UK."
She added: "Keir has demonstrated significant leadership on the world stage and is well placed to represent the UK's national interest while this process takes place and may even continue in an international role in the future but for now I know I speak for more Labour people than just myself in wanting him to step aside as our Leader."
Other Labour MPs have also joined the call for Starmer to step aside, as Brent West MP Barry Gardiner said Sir Keir should go to "save the country".
Veteran Leftwinger John McDonnell urged the PM to "put party and country first" as the election results suggested Nigel Farage could be heading to No10.
Dozens of Labour backbenchers have publicly suggested Sir Keir should either quit or set a timetable for his departure.
Former environment minister Mr Gardiner stressed that Labour's hammering was Sir Keir's "responsibility".
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"That's why I think he should accept that responsibility, and he should stand aside. Not stand aside for the sake of the Labour Party, but to stand aside for the sake of the country," he added on GB News.
Responding to accusations that forcing out Sir Keir would be following the years of chaos when the Tories changed the Prime Minister, he argued: "What I do think is, with the Tories, they changed leader to save themselves and to save their party each time. We now need to change leader in the Labour Party to save this country."
Mr McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, warned against moves to topple Sir Keir but said the Prime Minister should "put party and country first" as it faces the prospect of Mr Farage in No10 after Reform UK won nearly 1,450 seats at the local elections and Labour lost more than 1,400.
"Nobody should be launching a coup, we need to give party chance to have a thorough discussion about what has happened, why & what’s needed now but everything has to be on agenda," he messaged."Keir will need to put party & country first in judging whether he is risking opening door to Farage."
Sir Keir has accepted "responsibility" for the Labour defeats and other London MPs, as well as Cabinet ministers, were still rallying around him.
Hampstead and Highgate Labour MP Tulip Siddiq messaged on X: "The election results are disappointing. I am particularly upset to lose councillors who have worked so hard for their communities in Kilburn and West Hampstead.
"On the doorstep in the campaign, there was a lot of frustration from my constituents and we have to listen to that and make changes."Whether you voted for us or not, my job is to look after my constituents in Hampstead and Highgate and to support our government and Prime Minister."
The Prime Minister said he would be setting out the path forward as well as “the convictions and values that drive me” in the coming days, as he continued to defy calls to quit .
The Prime Minister reiterated that he would not “walk away”, saying if he resigned it would “plunge the country into chaos”.
“But that doesn’t mean we don’t need to respond. It doesn’t mean we don’t need to rebuild. It doesn’t mean that we don’t need to set out the path ahead,” he said.
“That’s what I’m going to do in the coming days.”
He said Labour needs to set out arguments about hope and the future, and appeal to young people, admitting that “the hope wasn’t there enough in the first two years of this government”.
Speaking during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, he said: “I will be setting out those arguments, but more than anything setting out with clarity the values and convictions that drive me.”
The Prime Minister will seek to use a major speech on Monday and then the King’s Speech on Wednesday to attempt to reset his premiership in the aftermath of the electoral mauling.
Sir Keir has been caught by the rise of Reform UK on the right, with Mr Farage’s party making spectacular gains, and the Green Party on the left also making inroads in Labour’s urban strongholds.
In England, councils which had been Labour for generations in the North were lost, while the party’s grip on London has also been severely weakened.
Results on Saturday underlined the challenge facing Labour, with Reform taking control in Barnsley and a Green surge seeing Sir Keir’s party losing control in Lambeth for the first time in 20 years.
In Wales, having been in government with half the seats in the Senedd at the last election, the party was reduced to just nine of the 96 seats available in the newly enlarged legislature, with First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan the highest profile casualty.