‘Completely untenable’ - Calls for the Prime Minister to resign as Labour faces South Tyneside wipe out
South Tyneside’s MPs have hit out at the Prime Minister over Labour’s disastrous local election results.
There were calls for Keir Starmer to resign from South Tyneside’s MPs as Labour faces a wiped out in the borough.
The party haemorrhaged seats on South Tyneside Council at the 2026 local elections as Reform UK surged ahead after voters headed to the polls on Thursday, May 7.
Both South Tyneside MPs hit out at the government during the ballot count on Friday, May 8, at the Temple Park Leisure Centre, in South Shields.
‘He needs to step down’
Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, has called on the Prime Minister to resign following the disastrous local elections.
She said: “It has been a difficult day, really disappointing and it makes me worry for the future of the borough.
“We’re going to have a new, inexperienced Council and I hope they will work with me to help deliver what we’ve already won in terms of central government funding.
“Two months ago I said that Keir Starmer should go and that’s still my position.
“I think his position is completely untenable after these results - maybe not today but very soon.
“I think he needs to take ownership of what’s happened and he needs to step down.”
‘The Party needs a reboot’
Emma Lewell, MP for South Shields, didn’t directly call for the Prime Minister to go but called for a “reboot” within the Labour Party.
She commented: “I’m really sad and disappointed for those who don’t deserve this.
“There is a unique situation in the South Shields end of the borough as there are still people in the Labour Party who are still associated with the previous Council leader’s toxic faction and they need to own some of these results today.
“The rest is entirely on the government - this was entirely predictable and expected.
“Last year’s local elections were a disaster for Labour and we should have changed plan then - the Prime Minister dug in and look where we are today.
“The Party needs a reboot and we need to have a serious think.
“If voters tell you they don’t like what you’re doing and you keep doing it, don’t ever expect their vote - it is as simple as that.”