Crime commissioner warns PM as she quits Labour

Sarah Taylor said she had left Labour so she could "speak freely"

A police and crime commissioner (PCC) who quit Labour said Sir Keir Starmer's position as prime minister was up for debate and warned his government had "destructive weaknesses".

Norfolk PCC Sarah Taylor resigned from the party after the Home Office announced commissioner roles in England and Wales were being scrapped.

In a letter, she warned the government was not reflecting "Labour values" and she was leaving so she could "speak freely".

Asked for comment, Number 10 referred the BBC to a Home Office statement which said removing PCCs would cut the cost of unnecessary bureaucracy and increase accountability.

Taylor – who had been told in August that the Norfolk PCC position would be ending – said the news that all commissioner roles were being scrapped was not surprising.

Although she was concerned the decision was "reducing democracy".

Taylor said Sir Keir's position as prime minister was "really under debate at the moment"

"There's no vision for the Labour Party that's being really explained by the government [or] by the prime minister," Taylor told the BBC.

While she said Sir Keir "has done an unbelievably brilliant job at turning the Labour Party around" she said whether he should continue at Downing Street "is really under debate at the moment".

Pressed on whether he should step aside, she said "when people are under fire, they can go one of two ways".

"They can either really do some introspection, work out what they need to do and respond to that, or they can become really entrenched in their position and I fear that we're going to have more of the latter and I would love to have more of the former."

'Destructive weaknesses'

Taylor spoke after writing to the prime minister, where she criticised the administration's "command-and-control approach" was "now serving as a singular and destructive force".

She ended her letter by warning that other Labour politicians may reach her conclusion that remaining in the party was "untenable".

"This situation must be remedied – not by going 'further and faster' - but by recognising and fixing the clear and destructive weaknesses in your government's approach," she wrote.

Allies of the PM have told media he could face a leadership challenge from another cabinet minister such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

But Streeting responded by throwing his support behind Sir Keir, and he instead criticised a "toxic culture" inside No 10.

Supporters of the prime minister have told journalists the PM would fight off any challenge to his leadership.

Removing Sir Keir from office could create chaos, destabilise the international markets and damage the relationship he has built with US President Donald Trump, they said.