UK, Starmer tries to stay in the saddle with the help of former prime minister Gordon Brown

Back to the future: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reacted to the disastrous defeat of his party in this week's election by appointing two Labour veterans as special advisors.

Former PM Gordon Brown was chosen as special envoy for global finance because of his experience during the great financial crisis of 2008. Harriet Harman, former number two in the party, becomes advisor for women's issues with the task of fighting misogyny and violence against women.

"Together we will build a stronger, fairer Britain," Starmer said in announcing the appointments, which were, however, greeted with some scepticism by many Labour MPs after the election bloodbath.

Starmer's position hangs in the balance after the vote results and the haemorrhaging of support for the Labour party in all three nations of Britain. The Labour party lost over 1,400 seats in the local elections in England, while Reform, the populist, anti-immigration party founded by Nigel Farage, went from zero to almost 1,500 seats. Labour, which has dominated Welsh politics for over a century, was also relegated to third place in Wales behind the nationalists of Plaid Cymru and Reform.

Some 30 Labour MPs have openly called for Starmer's resignation, while others are plotting behind the scenes and may ask the PM to stay on for a period but set a timetable for an exit, making room for a new leader who could boost the fortunes of the party and the government. Even unions close to Labour, such as Unison and GMB, have said they want an 'urgent change of course'.