When King Charles III ascended to the throne in September 2022, Britain was already in political turmoil. Liz Truss was occupying Downing Street at the time, having only just succeeded Boris Johnson days before the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Less than four years later, speculation is intensifying over whether the King could soon be asked to appoint a fourth Prime Minister of his reign.
After the dramatic rise and fall of Truss, followed by the premiership of Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer swept to power in Labour’s landslide general election victory in July 2024 promising stability after years of Conservative infighting.
Now, however, Starmer’s authority is under severe pressure following catastrophic local election results which have triggered mounting unrest within Labour ranks and growing discussion about whether his premiership can survive.
In what many Westminster observers viewed as a make-or-break moment, Starmer used a major speech in London on Monday to insist he remains “the man to deliver change” and vowed to prove his critics wrong. He described his government as a “10-year project” despite anger among Labour MPs over the party’s sharp collapse in support.
The scale of Labour’s losses has alarmed even senior figures within the party. Labour reportedly lost more than 1,400 council seats across England, while Nigel Farage’s Reform UK surged from fewer than 100 councillors to roughly 1,450 in one of the most dramatic electoral swings in recent British political history.
Support drained away not only in Labour’s traditional “Red Wall” heartlands but also in parts of London and Wales, fuelling fears that Starmer’s coalition is fracturing far earlier than expected.
The Prime Minister’s critics argue Labour has failed to deliver meaningful progress on key issues including immigration, public services and living standards. Starmer has also faced sustained criticism over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States despite longstanding controversy surrounding his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Polls now suggest Starmer has one of the weakest approval ratings among Western leaders, with many voters doubting Labour can win another general election under his leadership.
That has inevitably prompted speculation about whether Labour MPs could eventually move against him – and whether King Charles may once again find himself overseeing a transition of power at Buckingham Palace.
Under Labour Party rules, a leadership contest can be triggered if more than 20 per cent of Labour MPs back a challenger — meaning 81 MPs would need to support such a move.
Several names are already circulating in Westminster.
Among the most prominent is former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is seen by many on the left of the party as a potential successor capable of reconnecting Labour with working-class voters. Rayner has recently warned that “what we are doing isn’t working”, comments widely interpreted as a veiled criticism of Starmer’s direction.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is also regarded as a serious contender. Viewed as one of Labour’s strongest media performers, Streeting has reportedly attracted quiet support among MPs concerned about the party’s electoral trajectory.
Meanwhile, Andy Burnham continues to loom over the debate despite currently being unable to contest the leadership because he is not an MP. Polling suggests Burnham is significantly more popular with the public than Starmer, with some Labour figures privately viewing him as the party’s best hope of defeating Reform UK at the next election.
Even the brief intervention by backbench MP Catherine West – who openly floated triggering a leadership challenge before later retreating – underlined the nervousness now gripping Labour’s parliamentary ranks.
For now, Starmer remains firmly in Downing Street and insists he intends to fight on. Yet British politics has become increasingly volatile in recent years, with Prime Ministers rising and falling at remarkable speed.
If Labour’s crisis deepens and MPs ultimately decide a change at the top is necessary, King Charles could once again be called upon to invite a new leader to form a government – making them the fourth Prime Minister of his reign before its fourth anniversary.
