Wes Streeting is preparing to resign as health secretary and mount a formal challenge for the Labour leadership as early as Thursday, according to allies, deepening the crisis facing Keir Starmer.
Leadership Challenge Looms
Sources close to Streeting said he intended to trigger a leadership election, despite Downing Street insiders suggesting he lacked the required support from 81 MPs to force a contest. The prime minister had issued a “put up or shut up” ultimatum to his cabinet, but a source close to the health secretary dismissed the idea that Starmer had seen off the threat, calling it “laughable”.
“No one has the numbers till the bell is struck, even canvassing isn’t real, people need certainty before they write their name down. But he thinks he’s got the numbers,” the source said.
MPs Rally Behind Streeting
A second MP close to the Streeting camp said they had been involved in discussions to secure the requisite numbers and had begun ringing round MPs. Two other MPs said they had been contacted by Streeting’s allies on Tuesday evening, who told them: “He’s going for it.” One expressed uncertainty about whether the health secretary had sufficient backing to proceed.
The briefing, which came minutes before the start of the king’s speech, caused annoyance among some Starmer allies in the cabinet. “It’s not great for this to happen with the monarch in parliament,” one source said.
Talks with Starmer
Streeting held brief talks with Starmer in Downing Street on Wednesday morning, but his spokesperson said he would not comment afterwards to avoid distracting from the king’s speech. Starmer’s official spokesperson declined to discuss the content of their meeting but confirmed that the health secretary remained in his job, adding: “The prime minister has full confidence in the health secretary.”
A close ally of Starmer said the prime minister had always believed Streeting would not win the party and that he would fight any challenge, despite intense pressure from MPs publicly calling for him to go. One cabinet ally of the prime minister told the Guardian: “Personally I’d throw him in the river but luckily Keir Starmer is a calm and patient person.”
Renewed Calls for Resignation
Earlier on Wednesday, Zubir Ahmed, a close ally of Streeting who quit as a minister on Tuesday, renewed calls for the prime minister to resign, saying his authority had “irretrievably ebbed away”.
