The prime minister outlines what he sees as his government's successes.

"Of course, like every government, we’ve made mistakes," he accepts.

"But we got the big political choices right. I mean, if we’d listened to the advice of other parties, right now, we’d be stuck in a stand-off with Iran, having been dragged into a war that is not in our interest – and I will never do that."

He says he has been able to stabilise the economy, as well as make improvements to NHS waiting lists.

"But that's not enough, clearly," Starmer says, adding that for British people "change cannot come quickly enough".

He says he is not sure people believe that his Labour government cares which, he adds, is tough for him given he comes from a working class family.

Image source, PA Media

"Some people are frustrated with me," Starmer admits, adding he knows he has "doubters".

"I know I need to prove them wrong and I will," he says.

Starmer promises that the Labour Party will "face up to the big challenges", and "make the big arguments".

"We are not just facing dangerous times. But dangerous opponents, very dangerous opponents," Starmer says.

He then says: "If we don't get this right, our country will go down a very dark path."

Image source, PA Media

Starmer begins by saying last weeks's election results were "tough, very tough".

He says he takes responsibility, adding that he has to explain how Labour will do better in the weeks and months ahead.

Chris Mason
Political editor, in the room

Some wondered if this might be a from the heart, off-the-cuff address, without using autocue, but the autocue is being used.

Chris Mason
Political editor, in the room

Hello from the speech venue. It’s packed in here — and the sense of jeopardy hangs heavy.

Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell is on the front row, as is the party chair Anna Turley.

There was a big shout of ‘go on Keir!’ as the prime minister arrived in the room.

The prime minister has just taken to the stage, after a round of applause, and started speaking.

This could be a make-or-break speech for Starmer, as he tries to fend off leadership challenges within the Labour Party.

Watch live at the top of the page, and stick with us for the latest developments.

Image source, ITN POOL

Before we hear from Starmer, Labour MP for Ossett and Denby Dale Jade Botterill tells the packed room she was "devastated by the results" in the election.

She says the Labour Party is "one of the greatest vehicles for changing the lives of working people".

Starmer sits in the front row.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is about to speak, as he attempts to see off a leadership challenge following heavy election losses for the Labour Party.

Some of his speech has already been shared by Downing Street, and the PM is expected to say: "To meet the challenges that our country faces incremental change won't cut it."

He will promise bolder action, and a closer relationship with the EU.

We'll bring you the latest updates from his speech, and analysis - you can also watch live at the top of the page.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

This morning, there's been a modest reaction to renewed political uncertainty in the markets for UK government borrowing.

The 10-year bond yield - effectively the interest rate charged to the UK government for a 10-year loan - is up 0.06-0.07 percentage points, remaining just below 5%.

Some of that is a reaction to events in the Gulf, with other major European governments also seeing rises of 0.02-0.03 percentage points after President Trump’s latest intervention and oil price rises.

As a reminder, rising yields on government bonds mean the government will face higher debt interest costs.

On Friday, these rates came down when it appeared the PM would remain in place despite the Labour Party's poor election showing.

The political situation could evolve today and markets - already dealing with uncertainty from the Iran War - have half an eye on events in Westminster.

There are two market uncertainties here. This government was supposed to have a stable, large majority with predictable economic policy. This assumption is being tested today. More specifically, it is plausible that any new Downing Street team would plan to increase borrowing.

It is worth watching this today, and indeed some Starmer and Reeves loyalists may well point to any significant changes.

It is also worth watching as to whether significant business figures go into bat for the government over the need for “stability”.

Joshua Nevett
Political reporter

A leadership election can only be triggered if the leader resigns, or if Labour MPs launch a challenge when there is no vacancy.

A challenger wishing to oust an incumbent leader must be supported by 20% of Labour MPs. Based on the current number of Labour MPs, 81 would need to support a challenger to formally start the process.

MPs must inform the party's general secretary in writing of their nomination if they have enough backers.

Challenger nominees would then need to seek support from 5% of constituency parties or backing from at least three affiliates of the Labour Party (at least two must be trade unions).

Nominees must be Labour MPs, which would rule out potential challengers like Andy Burnham.

If enough support is gathered to initiate a membership ballot, the incumbent leader is automatically on the ballot paper, and they do not need to seek nominations from MPs.

The timing of any contest would be decided by Labour’s ruling national executive committee.

Ahead of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's upcoming speech, Labour MP Paula Barker tells the BBC her party could avoid "a load of chaos" if Starmer steps aside.

Starmer is facing mounting pressure from MPs in his own party following heavy election losses. His speech today could be a chance for him to convince Labour MPs he's the right man for the job.

After reading excerpts of the prime minister's speech, released by Downing Street, Barker says he has not been able to convince her.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she says "the country has stopped listening to Keir and that is the problem", adding: "He's a very nice man but he's an awful politician.

"It's becoming increasingly clear that our Labour government can no longer succeed if we have Keir at the helm."

Barker says she would be "delighted" if a seat could be identified for the mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.

Asked if she would personally give up her seat for Burnham, she replies in one word: "No."

Image source, EPA

Business Secretary Peter Kyle has just been asked by the Today programme's Nick Robinson about possible challengers to Keir Starmer.

Andy Burnham

"The reason that Andy Burnham is not in Parliament is not because of Keir Starmer - it's because Andy Burnham decided to leave Parliament and give up his seat," says Kyle.

"He went to Manchester and he made a series of commitments to Manchester and those commitments should be seen through."

Kyle says now is not the time for the "distractions" of a by-election and mayoral election in Manchester - but he adds they are decisions for Labour's National Executive Committee.

Angela Rayner

Asked if a possible Rayner government would risk market instability, Kyle says "we are still suffering the consequences" of Liz Truss's "mini budget".

"I think we toy with those challenges at our peril - that's not just a comment aimed at Angela Rayner, that's a comment aimed at the whole of our governing party."

"We need to double down on the basics of running the economy," he adds.

Wes Streeting

Robinson says: There’s a guy who describes himself as 'your long-standing office buddy, Wes Streeting."

"Wes and I are really good mates, yes," Kyle says.

He adds: "It’s one thing keeping open the option that you might try to become prime minister one day, and it’s a very different thing to try an unseat a sitting prime minister in the moment we’re in.

"Wes Streeting is not doing that."

As we've just reported, backbench MP Catherine West could try to trigger a leadership contest today - and the backbench MP has just spoken to BBC Radio 5 Live.

She again says she wants "to be fair" to Keir Starmer, but "if the speech fails to satisfy" her, she will try to launch her own challenge.

"We are in sort of the last-chance saloon here," she says. "We need a really good communicator to take the fight to Nigel Farage."

Asked what it would take from this morning's speech to convince her, West says she wants Starmer "to explain how he is going to make people's lives better".

• As a reminder, you'll be able to watch Keir Starmer's speech live at 10:00 BST on this page

Image source, Reuters

On Saturday, Labour backbencher Catherine West told the BBC that she would attempt to trigger a leadership contest - if a cabinet minister did not come forward to challenge Keir Starmer.

"If that cannot happen, and there are no leadership hopefuls who come forward tomorrow, then Monday morning I will put my name forward to stand for the leader of the Labour Party," she said on Saturday.

But on Sunday, speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, West slightly shifted the possible timeline.

West said she would listen to the prime minister's speech this morning. "If I'm still dissatisfied, I will put out my email to the Parliamentary Labour Party, asking for names.

"And the reason I’m doing that is not for me. It’s for working people, because Labour is the only party that can beat Reform."

To trigger a leadership contest, West would need the backing of 81 Labour MPs - a fifth of the current total.

Asked on Sunday if she could gather enough names, she said: "We will find out when I put out my email to the Parliamentary Labour Party."

Today's speech is a "really important moment for the prime minister," Business Secretary Peter Kyle tells BBC Breakfast.

"At every election you get a tap on the shoulder as a political party, with messages from the electorate.

"We just had the rug pulled from underneath us, and of course that sent convulsions through the Labour Party, as it should. It was a very profound message."

Kyle says Starmer needs to set out that the Labour Party is capable of meeting the "scale of challenge".

"I accept these challenges are profound," Kyle says. "We'll be judged on if we can deliver change people feel in their lives."

On Starmer's speech later this morning, Kyle says he is looking to the PM to "show he can rise to this moment in time".

Kyle goes on to say that leadership "is not just one person. It's a team, and it's a governing party.

"We all need to rise to the moment."

Labour in leadership mode - even if a contest has not been triggeredpublished at 08:02 BST 11 May

08:02 BST 11 May

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

This is a pivotal day for Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. The stakes for the prime minister’s speech could hardly be higher.

One big reason for that is Catherine West - the previously low-profile MP who has said that if the speech doesn’t impress her she will put her name forward for the leadership.

The question of whether she would then get to the 81 MPs required for a ballot of Labour members - which she doesn’t really want for herself - is almost beside the point.

If she declares then, in practice, Labour has a leadership contest. Not only would every Labour MP have the chance to nominate her - others would have the chance to put their names forward.

That’s one reason why even some opponents of Starmer are trying to stall West’s gambit: because they fear a leadership contest beginning before their candidate, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has found a way to become an MP.

One Burnham supporter told me they feared the Health Secretary Wes Streeting would enter a leadership contest this week, and warned that if he did so he would "face a challenge".

Perhaps that would come from Angela Rayner, who warned yesterday that Labour "needs to change", though also gave a strong hint she would be prepared to back Burnham.

However things develop, these dynamics show that Labour is already in leadership mode, even if a contest has not yet materialised.

Image source, Getty Images

A Labour MP has called for Keir Starmer to set out a "timetable for an orderly transition", so "the best people that could lead the Labour Party have the time to put forward their vision".

Navendu Mishra says Starmer "absolutely" came up as one of the reasons behind the loss of Labour support in the recent elections.

Asked about his colleague Catherine West's intention to possibly trigger a leadership contest, the Stockport MP tells Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm hoping to avoid that situation."

And when asked about Angela Rayner and Andy Burham as potential leaders for the party, Mishra praises both.

"There are no easy answers here... I'd love to say that we should just carry on as we are but sadly that is not an option," Mishra says.

Chris Curtis, Labour MP for Milton Keynes North, says Keir Starmer must set out a "bold vision" for kick-starting the UK economy in his speech later.

"These were a devastating set of results", he says of Thursday's elections. "So far, we have been too incremental in our approach and we have not had that bold a vision."

Curtis tells the Today programme that changing the party's leader "wouldn't make the blindest bit of difference unless the Labour Party collectively came together and came up to a solution to the very big economic challenges that this country faces".

Asked if he thinks there's an argument for a change of leader, he says "of course I think there's a case for that, but I'm willing to give the prime minister the benefit of the doubt, and that's why I'm waiting to hear what he has to say in his speech today".

Steve Wright, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has just spoken to BBC Breakfast.

"It's been like a slow car crash over the last few months," he says. "That's why I called for Starmer to stand down in February, because I think what we've seen in the last few days was inevitable."

Wright says there needs to be a change of leadership - but he doesn't want it to be rushed.

"There needs to be an evaluation over what has happened over the last few years... we want to make sure there is a process for someone who can take the party forward and deliver on the promises that were made two years ago."

Wright won't be drawn on who he wants to lead the party, but adds: "Voters have been clear. They don't back Keir Starmer as prime minister.

"Labour has three years to deliver [until the next general election] - I want to see them deliver."

• For context: A challenger wishing to oust an incumbent leader must be supported by 20% of Labour MPs - currently 81. They would then need support from 5% of constituency parties or backing from at least three affiliates of the Labour Party (at least two must be trade unions).