Wednesday 13 May 2026 12:49 pm
Wes Streeting 'Set to Resign' as King's Speech Upended
By: Mauricio Alencar, Politics and Economics Reporter
Wes Streeting is reportedly poised to resign as health secretary and launch a formal challenge to Keir Starmer, in a move that threatened to upend the King's Speech where the monarch announced government plans to fast-track trade deals with the EU.
According to The Times, Streeting is set to trigger a leadership contest as soon as tomorrow and challenge Keir Starmer in a Labour Party election. An “ally” of the health secretary told the newspaper that Streeting was “going to go for it”.
The report came just minutes before King Charles took the throne in Parliament to deliver a speech setting out the bills that will be presented by the government in the next two years. The King opened his speech with a statement on geopolitical turmoil facing the government. “An increasingly dangerous and volatile world threatens the United Kingdom, with the conflict in the Middle East only the most recent example,” he said. “Every element of the nation’s energy, defence and economic security will be tested.” As he spoke, news of Streeting’s potential leadership bid spread around Westminster.
Streeting vs Starmer
The health secretary held a meeting with Starmer in Number 10 a couple of hours before the speech. The meeting lasted just 16 minutes in a brief and potentially fiery meeting between the two Labour figures. Around 100 Labour MPs have publicly called for Starmer to resign although a similar number of lawmakers have urged challengers to hold back from launching a leadership bid.
Starmer’s leadership is hanging by a thread after Labour lost nearly 1,500 councillors across English councils and were defeated by nationalist parties in Wales and Scotland. Angela Rayner has called on the government to take more radical action while some MPs have urged party chiefs to allow Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to stand for a return to parliament.
EU Relations to be Fast-Tracked
In the King’s Speech, it was confirmed that the government would put a bill forward to fast-track trade deals secured with the European Union. Terms of the European Partnership bill will mean that parliament cannot scrutinise deals agreed between the UK and the EU. It will also confirm existing food standards and energy markets deals agreed last year. Several other bills are also set to be presented, including on financial services regulation and leasehold reform.
Starmer promised that the King’s Speech reflects how the status quo “will be different”. In a statement alongside the King’s Speech, Starmer said the country stood at a “pivotal moment”. He said multiple crises had meant that the “status quo had repeatedly made working people pay the price”. “This time must be different. And this King’s Speech shows it will be different with a plan to make this country stronger and fairer.”
