British Prime Minister Keir Starmer views a screening during a visit to Yash Raj Films, in Mumbai, India, Wednesday Oct. 8, 2025. A Labour MP has predicted Keir Starmer would step down before a coup kicked him out of office. The prime minister has faced growing speculation over his premiership in recent months as the party plummets in the polls and his own approval rating sinks to historic lows. Many pundits have pointed to the May local elections as the tipping point for his time in office, expecting Labour to lose councils across England and control over devolved governments in Wales and Scotland. Health secretary Wes Streeting, former deputy PM Angela Rayner, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and home secretary Shabana Mahmood are also widely tipped to throw their hats into the ring to replace Starmer. But backbencher John McDonnell suggested the prime minister would be more likely to step down himself, rather than wait to be kicked out of office. Asked if Starmer would still be leader of the party this time next year, McDonnell said: “I’m like anybody else really, we will see what happens over the next six months, we will see what happens in the May elections. “I don’t think, with Keir, it’s a coup, or anything like that.” Alluding to the time when they were both in the shadow cabinet together, McDonnell said: “I’ve worked with Keir over the years, he’s a serious politician, he’s a serious person and he’s a responsible person. “If he thinks after the May elections – if they are as disastrous as some people think, I don’t think they will be but we’ll see – if they are, I think he’ll take the view himself, he’ll take the judgement himself if he is the right person for the job. “If he doesn’t think he is, he’ll stand down. But we’ll see. There’s a lot of time to go between now and the May elections.” McDonnell – formerly the shadow chancellor – noted there were ways the government could improve its standing with the public by not “repeating the same mistakes of the past” with “U-turns every month”. “If they demonstrated a steadiness in government and addressing the real issues that people are facing – it’s always the cost of living crisis, making sure people have got a roof over their heads and their public services are invested in – I think there’s a prospect we could turn things around, but it could take longer than May,” the MP for Hayes and Harlington said. Starmer has considered quitting as Labour leader before, when the party was still in opposition. He admitted last year that the party’s poor performance in the 2021 local elections – and a by-election loss – were a “low point”. “I did [consider quitting] because I didn’t feel that I should be bigger than the party and that if I couldn’t bring about the change, perhaps there should be a change,” Starmer told Sky News. “But actually, in the end, I reflected on it, talked to very many people and doubled down and determined, no, it is the change in the Labour Party we need.” “The natural home for Jeremy is the Labour Party. It's the same with me.” Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell explains why he remains committed to Labour and isn’t considering defecting to Your Party. @JohnMcDonnellMP | @AdamBoultonTABB pic.twitter.com/yf02xm7vKf — Times Radio (@TimesRadio) December 28, 2025 Related... A Third Of Labour Voters Think Keir Starmer Should Step Down, Poll Finds Trump Official Mocks Starmer's Chief Of Staff With Bizarre Christmas Post Unexpected Boost For Starmer As Tory Peer Admits He Would Vote Labour