LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told members of his Cabinet on Tuesday he has no intention of resigning as calls for him to step down intensified within his Labor Party.Starmer sought to shore up support within his cabinet after a troubled few days following Labour’s landslide defeat in local elections last week, which, if repeated in a national election, would see him ousted from office by a landslide. Several junior ministers resigned from their posts on Tuesday, demanding a change in leadership, although no candidate has yet come forward to directly challenge Starmer. The resignations fueled speculation that Starmer could suffer the same fate as Boris Johnson in 2022, when dozens of ministers resigned en masse, forcing him to step down.Nearly 80 Labor MPs have now said Starmer should step down or at least set a timetable for his departure, but not enough to trigger a leadership contest. Under Labor rules, a fifth of its MPs, or 81 members in the House of Commons, must publicly support one of the candidates, and that has not yet happened.On Tuesday, the Minister of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Miyata Fahnbulleh, became the first member of his government to step down, urging Starmer to “do the right thing for the country” and setting a timetable for his departure. He was followed by Security Minister Jess Phillips, whose resignation letter described Starmer as “fundamentally a good man” but cited his inability to make bold changes. Phillips said, “I know you care deeply, but actions, not words, matter.” “I am not sure we are approaching this rare opportunity with the enthusiasm that is needed and I cannot wait for a crisis to make rapid progress.” The third British Department of Health minister to step down was Zubeer Ahmed. “It is clear to see that whatever the magnitude of individual achievements and progress, they are now being dwarfed and weakened by the lack of values-driven leadership at the centre,” he said on X. “It is clear in recent days that the public across the UK have now lost confidence in you as Prime Minister.”Despite scoring a landslide election victory in July 2024, Labour’s popularity has declined, and Starmer is receiving much of the blame. The reasons are varied, including a number of policy mistakes, a perceived lack of foresight, the struggling British economy and questions over his judgment – ​​notably the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to Washington despite the ambassador’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.At the start of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said he took responsibility for the defeat in last week’s local elections across Britain, but that he would keep fighting. “The country expects us to continue to govern,” Starmer said.