UK's Starmer launches political fightback

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will begin a political fightback early this week in a speech that says rebuilding relations with the rest of Europe will be his government's defining mission, as he moves to quell growing calls to quit.



Starmer's future was thrown into doubt after his Labour Party suffered heavy losses in local elections last week and a former minister threatened to seek lawmakers' backing for a leadership contest if he fails to offer radical change.



More than 30 of Starmer's lawmakers have called for him to quit or to set out a timetable for his departure after the local election defeats, the worst for a governing party in more than three decades.



In his latest government reset, Starmer will say that "incremental change won't cut it" and that the scale of reforms needed to revive the economy, rebuild Britain's military, and boost energy security are bigger than he had realised, according to extracts of the speech released by his office.



Although no new policies were announced in the extracts, Starmer will say his government "will be defined by rebuilding our relationship and by putting Britain at the heart of Europe", almost a decade after Britain voted to leave the European Union.