Keir Starmer brings back Gordon Brown amid growing calls for his resignation after Labour setbacks
Gordon Brown is set to return to government after meeting with Keir Starmer on Saturday as the Prime Minister faces pressure following poor election performances across the UK.
Brown, the former prime minister, will return as Keir Starmer’s special envoy on global finance, meaning he will advise the PM on how global finance cooperation can improve economic security and resilience.
Downing Street said Keir Starmer has committed to boosting the country’s security and resilience and “in this role, Gordon Brown will advise on how global finance cooperation can help to achieve this.”
It comes after a poor result for Labour in the English local elections and both Welsh and Scottish parliament elections.
Starmer’s inner circle is being reorganised with the party’s former deputy leader and current member of the House of Lords, Harriet Harman, also being appointed as the PM’s advisor on women and girls.
Harman will work with ministers on a voluntary basis with the government to tackle violence against women and girls, improving job prospects and increasing representation in parliament and public life.
He is under pressure to resign following the devastating results for the Labour party, which saw them lose their dominance in Wales for the first time in more than a century, as well as losing more than 1400 councillors in England.
They have lost four MSPs in Scotland and are now tied in second place with Reform UK with 17 seats.
Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour’s leader, failed to win his Cathcart constituency but was elected through the list.
The move is thought to be part of Starmer’s plan to reassert authority within the party by appointing some of the party’s former senior members.
However, it appears to have been met with confusion and frustration from within government, with one Labour minister reportedly telling the BBC: "It’s a joke. There is no question to which bringing these two back is the answer."
In recent days several Labour MPs have called for Starmer to resign if the election results went poorly, with Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, saying on Saturday morning that there "is a responsibility on the Cabinet to recognise this can’t carry on forever."
Another party adviser reportedly told the broadcaster: "Is his plan to combat the notion that he has no ideas to just double down on that and bring in a load of other people to come up with ideas?"
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Debbie Abrahams MP said the PM had a “matter of months” to make a decision about his future, echoing reports that Energy Secretary Ed Milliband has told Starmer he needs to map out a timeline for his resignation.
Deputy Editor
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