Kirkcaldy MP Melanie Ward has called on Sir Keir Starmer to quit as Prime Minister, telling him he has “lost the confidence of the public.”

The Labour politician issued a statement on Monday night after the party’s poor performance in the Scottish elections, and also resigned her post as Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Lammey, Deputy Prime MInister.

The call came as pressure grew on Sir Keir Starmer to quit. Ms Ward was the fourth Government aide to resign on Monday as around 70 Labour MPs backed calls for a change at 10 Downing Street.

She said the Prime Minister was a big factor in Labour’s poor performance in last week’s elections which saw Labour lose seats and finish joint second with the right wing ReformUK party.

Keir Starmer during a walk on the Esplanade in May 2023 (Pic: Robert Perry/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Keir Starmer during a walk on the Esplanade in May 2023 (Pic: Robert Perry/Getty Images)

In Fife ,it failed to win a single constituency seat as the SNP swept home in four out of five, while Willie Rennie remained all conquering for the Lib Dems in North East Fife.

Ms Ward, who attended the count at Michael Woods Sports Centre, said the results were “extremely disappointing, especially given the terrible record of the SNP.”

She spoke with the chair of her local Labour Party before making a final decision to urge the Prime Minister to quit, and also emailed all local party members to outline her reasons in more detail.

She said: “So many of my constituents told me that the could not vote Labour as long as Keir Starmer remains Prime Minister. Their anger at early errors like changes to the Winter Fuel Payment remains palpable. Mistakes on moral issues like Gaza have also not been forgotten by the wider public.

“Keir Starmer did important work to change the Labour Party, and governing in a time like this will never be easy, but the message from last week’s elections was clear: the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the public.

“Our country faces enormous challenges, and we need a Labour government that can deliver the scale of change that this requires. It is clear that the Prime Minister no longer has the trust or confidence of the public to lead this change.

“It is for this reasoning I am calling on Keir Starmer to resign as leader of the Labour Party and set out a rapid process for the election of a new Labour leader and Prime Minister.”

Ms Ward was the first Labour MP from Scotland to state her position on Monday, and the tide continued to turn against the Prime Minister across the day with more MPs calling on him to go.