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Prime minister Keir Starmer was dealt a brutal blow as Sky News aired a scathing rant about his leadership from former Labour MP Karl Turner. The politician who now sits as an Independent MP following his suspension in March joined presenter Leah Boleto after Starmer's Monday (May 11) speech, in which he vowed to "prove doubters wrong." Addressing whether the Prime minister should step down, Turner stated: "It was a well-rehearsed speech, it was delivered well, but it was done by way of autocue."

The MP for Kingston upon Hull East admitted: "I texted the PM yesterday, we've not spoken much in recent months because we've had a fall out which was fairly public, but I said 'if you go into the room tomorrow and read from autocue it's goodnight Vienna unfortunately because you've got to speak from the heart.'" "But I suspect what the advisers were saying to him in Downing Street yesterday is 'the strategy, Prime minister, to get you over this week. Is to get Catherine West to drop the idea of challenging you.'" He fumed: "That's what they're doing, they're going from day to day to get the Prime minister into a position where he survives the day, but if that's the speech to persuade that country that things are going to change, I'm afraid it won't work."

The former Labour MP raged: "Why? Because it's just more of the same with a bit more drama.

"There's nothing in that speech that's going to get people in East Hull revved up to the point where they're saying 'I wish I'd not voted for Reform the other day,' and there's his problem."

Karl furiously questioned: "So what is the decision he wants to make? Who does he really want to speak to? Does he want to write off the red wall? Seats like Barnsley, Sheffield and Hull. Is that the seats he wants to give up on, because if he does, fine.

"Say you're going to rejoin the European Union, tell the country that's your plan. We might win a few seats off the Lib-Dems, we might win a few seats off the soft Tories, we might win a few seats from places we'd never expect, like Cumbria Town if the position is that we're going to go back into the EU."

The MP fumed: "But let's not pretend that he's going to move the dial in any constituency in the North of England with that speech today.

"God bless him, he's doing his best, and the question you ask me is, should he stay or should he go? In some ways, it's academic because I can't win, can I?"

He explained: "If I say the Prime minister should stay put, they say to me, 'Hang on a minute, you're only saying that because you want the whip back,' and if I say, 'No, be off with you, Keir Starmer, we're sick to death of you, we've had enough,' the answer to that is,' he's bound to say that, he's been suspended,' over jury trial containment of all things."

Angered by Starmer, Karl added: "The Prime minister had an opportunity today to deliver a speech from the heart. I can do it, I spoke for the last seven minutes without a breath, why can't the Prime minster do it, for goodness sake."