Catherine West threatened Keir Starmer's leadership over the weekend. Since then, she has toned down her demands.

Here's a timeline of what we've heard from the Labour MP who challenged the PM:

Saturday's ultimatum

West issued a seemingly hard-hitting ultimatum to the prime minister's cabinet: challenge his leadership, or I will.

She said she had the backing of 10 MPs, but would need the support of 81 of her peers to launch a leadership bid. What is the process for challenging a Labour leader?

Simmering down on Sunday

She softened the threat slightly, saying that she would listen to Starmer's speech on Monday before taking action: "If I'm still dissatisfied, I will put out my email to the Parliamentary Labour Party, asking for names."

Monday's backing down

Following Starmer's speech - which we've recapped here - West called for Starmer to set a deadline to leave his role by September, but backed down on her previous threat to initiate a leadership contest today.

She said his speech was "too little too late" and requested an "orderly transition" in the party's leadership.

"I am hereby giving notice to No 10 that I am collecting names of Labour MPs to call on the prime minister to set a timetable for the election of a new leader in September."

During her speech at a union conference, Angela Rayner reiterates comments she made in a statement on Sunday.

She says "it's been a bruising few days" following Labour's "historic" election defeat.

"What we are doing isn't working, and it needs to change," she adds. "It's no good acknowledging mistakes if they're not put right."

She moves on to say that Labour should accept "that Andy Burnham should never have been blocked".

As a reminder, the Greater Manchester mayor tried to become an MP earlier this year, but was blocked by Labour's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

"It's a mistake that the leadership of our party should put right," she adds.

You can watch her speech live at the top of this page.

Image source, UK POOL

Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is now speaking at the Communication Workers Union conference in Bournemouth.

She's not expected to touch on Starmer's speech, or the recent update that Catherine West is backing down from her leadership challenge.

On Sunday, Rayner issued a "last chance" warning to Starmer, and backed Andy Burnham to return to Westminster - here's a reminder of what she said.

We're keeping across her speech and will bring you any key developments right here on this page.

West has backed down. Downing Street will be delightedpublished at 12:20 BST 11 May

12:20 BST 11 May

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Catherine West has backed down.

There was a world in which the Labour Party could have begun the process for a leadership election later today.

That is now not happening unless someone else decides to stand.

In her statement she criticises the prime minister, saying his speech was “too little too late”. And she calls for him to set a leadership election timetable to culminate in September.

But she now joins a club of a few dozen MPs who have said that.

The reason this little-known MP had such relevance over the past two days is because she was threatening to go much further and actually force a leadership election.

It’s also worth noting that her call to collect names of Labour MPs calling for the prime minister to go has no particular status under the Labour rules. There is no equivalent of the Conservative Party’s letters of no confidence process.

Downing Street will be delighted. There was a threat of a leadership contest and it has gone.

But supporters of Andy Burnham’s candidacy will also be delighted. The “orderly transition” formulation is exactly the same one that Burnham’s supporters have been using.

The question now is whether he can find a way to get into the House of Commons by then.

Image source, Getty Images

Catherine West has called on PM Keir Starmer to set a timetable for him to depart his role.

"I am hereby giving notice to No 10 that I am collecting names of Labour MPs to call on the Prime Minister to set a timetable for the election of a new leader in September," she adds in a statement.

Before the weekend, West had rarely made headlines. But in an unexpected move on Saturday, the former junior Foreign Office minister issued a leadership challenge.

Today, she suggested she is no longer standing for the Labour leadership, but repeated her call for Starmer to stand down.

What do we know about her?

In Parliament: West is the Labour MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet in north London, having first been elected in May 2015 to represent Hornsey and Wood Green. She currently sits on the Treasury Select Committee and also serves as trade envoy to Pakistan.

On the front bench: She held the role of a government minister in the Foreign Office between July 2024 and September 2025. She also had stints as a shadow minister in the same office from 2015-2017 and 2020-2024, first under Jeremy Corbyn's party leadership and then under Starmer's. West was sacked from the role by Corbyn in 2017 for defying him over a vote on the EU single market.

Away from Westminster: She was born in Australia and moved to London in 1998. The mother of two speaks five languages, according to her profile on the Labour website, and was awarded MP of the Year by the Patchwork Foundation in December 2022.

West falls short of her previous threat to initiate leadership contest todaypublished at 12:08 BST 11 May

12:08 BST 11 May

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Catherine West has suggested that she is no longer standing for the Labour leadership but called for the prime minister to stand down in September.

Her call for an "orderly transition" echoes the comments made by supporters of Andy Burnham but stops far short of her previous threat to initiate a leadership contest today.

Image source, BBC / PA Media

We can now bring you the full statement from Labour MP Catherine West, who challenged Starmer over the weekend:

"I have listened to the prime minister's speech this morning. I welcome the renewed energy and ideas. However, I have reluctantly concluded that this morning’s speech was too little too late.

"The results last Thursday show that the prime minister has failed to inspire hope.

"What is best for the party and country now is for an orderly transition.

"I am hereby giving notice to No 10 that I am collecting names of Labour MPs to call on the prime minister to set a timetable for the election of a new leader in September.

"I want to thank everyone who has been in contact over the weekend to offer good wishes. We need our best top team in place to fight the next election. We owe working people up and down the country nothing less."

Labour MP Catherine West calls on Starmer to set a departure timetable.

In a statement, she says Starmer's speech this morning is "too little too late".

"I am hereby giving notice to No 10 that I am collecting names of Labour MPs to call on the Prime Minister to set a timetable for the election of a new leader in September," it adds.

It comes after West issued an ultimatum to Starmer's cabinet, either they launch a bid to challenge his leadership or she will do it herself.

We'll have more on this shortly.

Nabiha Ahmed
Live reporter

Image source, James Manning/PA Wire

The prime minister's speech marked a moment for him to try and fend off a leadership challenge.

But away from Starmer's acknowledgement that "mistakes were made" and promise to prove his "doubters" wrong, he made three key pledges in his speech:

Stronger ties with the European Union

The UK will set a "new direction for Britain" at the next European Union (EU) summit, he said.

The Labour government will focus on putting Britain "at the heart of Europe" in order to cultivate a stronger, economy, trade network and defence system.

Nationalising British Steel

Starmer said "legislation will be brought forward" on Wednesday to give the government the ability to have "full ownership" of British Steel.

Doing so is in the public interest and "the ultimate sovereign capability", he added.

It comes after the government seized control of British Steel's Scunthorpe steelworks from its Chinese owners Jingye in April last year.

A boost for Britain's youth

The prime minister announced an "ambitious" youth experience scheme, which will be at the heart of a renewed relationship with the EU, so that young people can work, study and live in Europe.

He vowed to go "much further" in investing in apprenticeships, technical excellence colleges, and special educational needs, promising that every young Briton struggling to find work will get a "guaranteed" job, training or work placement.

'No real substance': How the speech went down with Starmer's target audience - his own partypublished at 11:29 BST 11 May

11:29 BST 11 May

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

This was billed as a make-or-break moment. But for some MPs their mind was made up, and the PM didn’t change it.

One critic told me: "No-one has come close to where he is now (in the polls) and come back. He is just wasting our time."

Another pointed out that even his big offer to the party and country - nationalising British Steel - was caveated "subject to a public interest test".

A senior Labour figure who has been close to Keir Starmer pointed out there was "no substance on the cost of living", no "pound in your pocket answers," and "nothing substantive on immigration and defence".

I am not getting the sense that it’s been seen as a poor speech by MPs, just not transformational.

"Delivery fine….but no real substance," texted a former Labour official.

But perhaps the most relevant response was this: "It doesn’t matter what I think. What does Catherine West think?"

• At the weekend, backbench Labour MP Catherine West said she would try to trigger a leadership contest if she wasn't satisfied with the prime minister's speech

Malu Cursino
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Keir Starmer's made his much-anticipated make-or-break speech. Here are the key takeaways:

Mistakes made, change needed

• Starmer admitted his government has "made mistakes", but says they got "the big political choices right" - citing the Iran war, and "investment in public services"
• He called Labour's election losses "tough", and said he knows "people are frustrated" with him: I need to prove doubters wrong, and I will, he vowed
• The prime minister acknowledged "incremental change won't cut it" when it comes to meeting the UK's challenges. He added that for British people "change cannot come quickly enough"

A new direction

• Rebuilding the UK's relationship with the EU is what the Labour government will be defined by, Starmer said, adding that at the next EU summit the UK will set a "new direction for Britain"
• He also announced "legislation will be brought forward" on Wednesday to give the government powers to take "full ownership of British Steel", subject to a public interest test

Is this enough?

• The BBC's Chris Mason asked the PM whether today's speech will be enough to quell concerns about his future in Downing Street. In response, Starmer reiterates that he is setting out "the direction we need to take"

• Starmer said he understands the "enormity" of the task he is facing, when asked if this is Labour's last chance
• "This is the Britain I will fight for," Starmer said when pushed on if he will fight a possible leadership contest

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Sleeves rolled up, without jacket and tie - this was a pumped up prime minister determined to show that he gets the stakes, both for him and for the Labour Party.

At points, Keir Starmer’s delivery recalled what most Labour MPs see as his most successful speech as prime minister, at the party’s conference last September.

In terms of substance, though, Starmer did not deliver the clear change of direction or policy-laden agenda that at least some of his MPs say they crave.

An announcement on the nationalisation of British Steel was new, but confirmed what was already expected and some believe he should have done it months ago anyway.

A much-anticipated section on relations with Europe was a statement of longstanding government policy. Although some MPs may seize eagerly on a section in the Q&A where Starmer did not rule out seeking to join the single market or the customs union after the next general election.

Perhaps the newest element was Starmer’s clear statement that he will fight any leadership contest rather than resigning.

We’ll find out over the coming hours whether that speech was enough to avert such a contest.

Starmer says he understands the "enormity" of the task he is facing, when asked if this is Labour's last chance.

Labour inherited "a terrible legacy" from the previous Conservative government, he says.

He says his party must now inject "much more hope and optimism into what we are saying".

With that Starmer's speech, and round of quickfire questions from the media, comes to an end.

"I'm not going to walk away," Starmer says when asked if he will fight in a leadership contest should one be launched by an MP.

This repeats what we heard from the PM following heavy election losses for the Labour Party in Thursday's elections.

As a reminder, over the weekend Labour MP Catherine West delivered an ultimatum to the PM's cabinet: Challenge Starmer, or I will.

Starmer adds that Britain is a "reasonable, tolerant, decent country", and this is "the Britain I will fight for".

Image source, PA Media

Starmer is asked if he's thought about stepping aside after Thursday's election results.

He says the constant changing of leaders under the previous Conservative government "cost this country a huge amount".

It was working people that "paid the price" and Labour "will not inflict that" on the country, he adds.

Starmer acknowledges there is frustration, but says he has "a responsibility to deliver the change" that Labour was elected to bring.

The first question up is from BBC's political editor Chris Mason, who asks Starmer if his speech has done enough, and what he would say to Labour Party colleagues asking him to leave.

Mason also presses the PM on Andy Burnham and if he would still back blocking the Greater Manchester mayor from returning to Parliament.

Earlier this year, Burnham tried to become an MP, but was blocked by Labour's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

On Burnham, Starmer says it's for the NEC to decide whether he can stand but adds that he is doing a "great job" in Manchester.

The PM reiterates that he is setting out "the direction we need to take" and acknowledging that Britain needs a bigger response than 2024.

He says Labour was elected to change the frustration that people in the UK feel.

Image source, PA Media

Starmer accuses other political parties of wanting "more division" and "grievance politics".

These parties are looking not for solutions but "for someone to blame", he says.

It's fine if the blame falls on him, Starmer says, but "increasingly it's not, it's other people in this country" that are being blamed.

"This is nothing less than a battle for the soul of our nation," he says.

The PM is now taking questions from the media, starting with the BBC's Chris Mason - stick with us.

Starmer says an ambitious youth scheme will be at the heart of a new relationship with the EU.

Calling this "the Labour choice," he says the greatest hope every parent has is a better future for their children.

Starmer says "every child should have the opportunity to go as far as their talent or effort takes them".

The PM says he will go "much further" in investing in apprenticeships, technical excellence colleges, and special educational needs to ensure every young person "struggling to find a job" will get a "guaranteed" job, training or work placement.

Image source, PA Media

Turning to Brexit and Europe, Starmer recalls that Nigel Farage said Brexit would make the UK richer, more secure, and curb migration.

"He took Britain for a ride," Starmer says. "He is not just a grifter, he is a chancer."

At the next EU summit, he says the UK will set a "new direction for Britain".

"The last government was defined by breaking our relationship with Europe.

"This Labour government will be defined by rebuilding our relationship with Europe, by putting Britain at the heart of Europe, so that we are stronger on the economy, stronger on trade, stronger on defence, you name it," he adds, to applause in the room.

Starmer says an "ambitious" youth scheme will be at the heart of a new relationship with the EU, "so that our young people can work and study and live in Europe".

Starmer says that "strength through fairness" is a core Labour argument, and his "compass".

He references his government's intervention to keep the Scunthorpe steel plant open, and says this saved "thousands" of jobs and stopped a region from being "decimated".

That same "urgency" must be brought to everything, Starmer says.

He announces that "legislation will be brought forward this week" to give the government powers to take "full ownership of British Steel", subject to a public interest test.

"Public ownership is in the public interest," he says, and will make Labour "stronger through industrial renewal".

• What is British Steel and why is it important?