Newspaper headlines: 'Cabinet turns on Starmer' and 'Meg's in' for palace stay
BBC News·2026-06-20·via BBC News
Saturday's papers are focused on the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer being asked to step aside and make way for Andy Burnham. Burnham won a resounding victory in the Makerfield by-election, which has "led to a fresh rebellion among Sir Keir's top team", the Daily Telegraph reports. The former Greater Manchester mayor is "putting together a list of nearly 200 MPS... who will publicly call for Sir Keir to resign and agree upon a transition period", the paper says.
As Burnham prepares to "challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership", the prime minister has vowed to fight, the Daily Mirror reports. Addressing a crowd after the Makerfield by-election, the newly elected MP said: "It is out last chance to change," the paper reports.
The Daily Mail headlines on an ultimatum for Sir Keir: "Resign in days or face a coup". Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is believed to among the Cabinet ministers urging the PM to "set out a timetable to quit this summer", the Daily Mail says. Elsewhere on the page, two victims are pictured from the fatal train collision in Bedford.
The i Paper leads on Labour's Cabinet "pushing Starmer towards the exit". The paper reports Burnham would like the UK prime minister to "name an exit date within days" so he can take the top job by September.
The Financial Times says Burnham's "momentous victory in the Makerfield by-election" has left Sir Keir "hanging by a thread". The paper details the prime minister's plans to spend the weekend "mulling his future with colleagues and family", while one cabinet minister has said his time is over.
Sir Keir's exit is "inevitable" after Burnham's victory, a cabinet minister has told the Guardian. Ministers who are loyal to the prime minister have reportedly urged him to "set a timetable for his departure by the end of the weekend", the paper reports.
Similarly, the Times reports that the prime minister will be considering his future over the weekend. Starmer has said publicly "that he would fight any leadership challenge", but a source close to the PM has told the Times that "privately his position was more 'nuanced'".
Harry and Meghan will stay in "a royal palace" when they visit the UK next month, the Sun reports. The paper understands that the family may stay in Buckingham Palace. It will be the first time in four years since their children, Archie 7, and Lilibet, 5, have visited the UK, the paper says.
Tory Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called Labour's leadership battle "a mess" and has claimed it is "paralysing the country to the detriment of its people", the Daily Express reports. Meanwhile, Catherine, Princess of Wales, is pictured with young children on the front page with a call to give kids "quiet and unconditional love".
And according to the Daily Star, England fans are "drinking America dry" at the World Cup.
