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Wes Streeting faces narrow road to Labour members’ favour
Wes
Streeting faces narrow road to Labour members’ favour
Aletha
Adu
Political
correspondent
Health
secretary’s soft-right credentials put him at a disadvantage even with reduced
membership under Starmer
Tue 12
May 2026 06.00 BST
“Country
first, party second” is a mantra Keir Starmer and his cabinet have repeated
since being in opposition, seeking to draw a dividing line between Labour and
their Conservative predecessors’ inclination for self-destruction.
But party
members do matter in politics – and a key problem for Wes Streeting, one of
those with ambitions to succeed Keir Starmer, is that many of Labour’s do not
like him.
Just
before Labour’s heavy local election losses, a Compass survey of more than
1,000 members found that if they were given a free choice, 42% would pick Andy
Burnham to succeed Starmer – against just 11% for Streeting. And whereas
Burnham had a 44% favourability rating, only 18% felt the same towards the
health secretary.
That
result put Streeting roughly on a par with Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband – but
given those potential candidates and Burnham are firmly to his left, it would
appear to suggest that the majority of the party would prefer not to have a
candidate in Streeting’s place on the ideological spectrum. Both Miliband and
Rayner were viewed favourably by comfortably more members than Streeting was.
Among all
the plotting and jostling for position in the leadership contest, that presents
a serious challenge for Streeting. While he is thought to be the candidate most
ready for a leadership contest, he is on the right of the party, formerly close
to Peter Mandelson and of the Blairite Progress wing.
In recent
months he has been seen as seeking to position himself further to the left,
perhaps in an effort to secure more support from the members who will
ultimately choose the victor from a list nominated by MPs.
Recent
research by Queen Mary University of London found that about 48% of Labour
member describe themselves as “fairly leftwing”. The close result of Labour’s
deputy leadership election and a low turnout suggested that members are still
largely on the so-called soft left.
And they
may remain cautious of any successor trying to appear more leftwing than their
record states, given Keir Starmer’s 2020 leadership pledges, which many viewed
as having ultimately been betrayed after he won the job.
Since
Starmer succeeded Jeremy Corbyn in April 2020, many members have quit: from a
peak of 532,046 members at the end of 2019, Labour lost more than 200,000
members, ending 2024 with 333,235 onside.
“Lots of
grassroots members have left the Labour since the general election, either to
join the Greens (and to a lesser extent Your Party), or just to give up
belonging to any party,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary
University of London.
“Starmer,
inasmuch as he has any strong values, is pretty much like your [current]
average Labour member, and the fact that in some ways he seems to have betrayed
them is partly responsible for their disillusionment with him,” Bale said.
“But
anyone on the right of the Labour party hoping that this means those remaining
are on their side is probably fooling themselves.”
Still,
Bale said, there may be hope for Streeting yet. “Even those who’ve stuck around
are highly likely to be leftwing and very socially liberal. But one thing we
know about members – and Starmer getting himself elected in 2020 rather than
Corbyn’s anointed successor, Rebecca Long-Bailey, is proof of this – is that
party members also want to win elections,” he said.
“So if
Streeting can show them he’s the guy to do that, he still has a chance, even if
he’s not their ideological ideal.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his political survival as several key Cabinet ministers have privately urged him to set out a timetable for his resignation.
Starmer on
the brink as cabinet ministers urge him to quit
UK Prime
Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his political survival as several key
Cabinet ministers have privately urged him to set out a timetable for his
resignation. The internal rebellion exploded following Labour's disastrous
local and regional election results, resulting in one of the worst ballot-box
defeats in the party’s 125-year history.
Key
Developments
- Cabinet Divisions: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood,
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, and Deputy
Prime Minister David Lammy have reportedly pressured Starmer to manage an
orderly transition of power.
- Backbench Revolt: Nearly 80 Labour MPs
have publicly called for Starmer to stand down or set a firm departure
date.
- Government Resignations: Six ministerial aides
(Parliamentary Private Secretaries) resigned their posts in protest to
demand a change of leadership, forcing No. 10 to swiftly replace them.
- Starmer's Stance: Despite the heavy losses and
low approval ratings, Starmer insists he will not "walk away",
warning that a leadership contest would plunge the country into
"chaos".
Potential
Successors
While
Housing Secretary Steve Reed has defended Starmer to prevent repeating
Conservative-style leadership churn, different party factions are positioning
for a potential race:
Wes
Streeting: The
Health Secretary's allies are at the center of the current backbench mutiny,
amid speculation he is preparing a leadership bid.
Andy
Burnham: The Mayor
of Greater Manchester is heavily favored by some MPs, though launching a bid
would require him to return to Parliament via a by-election.
Interim
Caretakers: Some
factions favor appointing a temporary leader, such as John Healey or Hilary
Benn, to stabilize the government until the autumn.
Starmer on the brink as cabinet ministers urge him to quit
Starmer
on the brink as cabinet ministers urge him to quit
Exclusive:
Senior cabinet ministers believed to be among those telling PM to oversee
orderly departure hours after he said he would fight any challenge
Pippa
Crerar and Jessica Elgot
Mon 11
May 2026 22.09 BST
Keir
Starmer’s grip on power appeared to be slipping away on Monday as cabinet
ministers urged him to set out a timetable for his departure and more than 70
Labour MPs publicly called for him to stand down.
The prime
minister warned the country would “never forgive” Labour for plunging into the
chaos of a leadership election – and that he intended to prove his doubters
inside and outside the party wrong.
The
Guardian understands that four senior cabinet ministers - Shabana Mahmood, the
home secretary, Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, John Healey, the defence
secretary and the deputy prime minister David Lammy - were among those who
spoke to Starmer on Monday.
Some told
the prime minister he should oversee an orderly transition of power after
crushing election defeats risked ringing the death knell on his premiership.
Others
discussed with Starmer how they should take a “responsible, dignified, orderly”
approach to what might follow. Several others - including Richard Hermer and
Steve Reed - were defiant, urging him to fight on.
One
cabinet minister said: “In the end Keir has listened to cabinet ministers –
there are differences about where this will go and what is in the best
interests of party and country. He’ll have to make a decision about what he’s
going to do before cabinet tomorrow.”
Chief
whip Jonathan Reynolds is understood to have spent the day in Downing Street,
conveying the mood among backbenchers yet to go public to the No 10 operation.
Among
those outside the cabinet publicly calling for Starmer to resign were close
allies of Wes Streeting, who urged Starmer to set out a “swift” timetable, in
what appeared to be an orchestrated move. But one close friend suggested the
health secretary had “no plans to pull the house down”.
Supporters
of Andy Burnham also published letters calling for the prime minister to go.
Sources on Labour’s ruling national executive committee, which blocked the
Greater Manchester mayor from standing in the Gorton and Denton byelection in
January, suggested they could take a different course next time.
“The
officers group could move if there was clearly a question mark over political
authority. But there would have to be a byelection called first before we know
whether that is the case,” one said. Another said “things could move” should
Starmer clearly not have support to continue as PM.
Several
sources said how angry some cabinet ministers were with Burnham and Streeting,
who they believed to have precipitated the leadership crisis by sanctioning
allies to call for Starmer’s departure. “They’ve got their hands all over
this,” one said.
Angela
Rayner, whose own chances of running are stalled until her tax affairs are
resolved, appeared to throw her weight behind Burnham, arguing that blocking
him had been a mistake and he should be allowed to return to parliament.
Her stock
as a potential successor to the Labour crown has fallen in recent weeks, as
Burnham’s has risen, with allies suggesting she was no longer determined to go
for the top job herself, and could instead be part of a team. But she would
still be expected to run if Burnham could not.
Starmer
and his allies struggled to fight a rearguard action to shore up his
leadership, unlike in February after Anas Sarwar, Labour’s leader in Scotland
called for him to go, when cabinet ministers came out en masse in support.
Starmer
survived an immediate threat after Catherine West, a potential stalking-horse
candidate, changed course and said she was gathering names of MPs who supported
an orderly transition instead.
More than
70, including several junior backbenchers, from across the party’s ranks said
Starmer had failed to convince them he had what it took to lead the country
into the next election. They represent 25% of the party’s backbenchers.
In a
speech earlier on Monday, Starmer said he would not resign and would prove his
doubters wrong, and he would fight any leadership challenge.
“I take
responsibility for not walking away, not plunging our country into chaos, as
the Tories did time and again, chaos that did lasting damage to this country. A
Labour government would never be forgiven for inflicting that on our country
again,” he said.
“I know
that people are frustrated by the state of Britain, frustrated by politics, and
some people are frustrated with me. I know I have my doubters, and I know I
need to prove them wrong, and I will.”
Ed
Miliband, the energy secretary, is understood to have urged Starmer to consider
setting out a timetable for his departure a week ago.
One
cabinet ally of Starmer urged MPs to pause. “Everybody needs to calm down and
take a deep breath. If you want to be seen as a credible governing party, the
idea that you come into power promising stability, and then 20 months later
decapitate your leader, is just madness,” they said.
But
Starmer’s speech did not stem the steady flow of statements from MPs which
called for the prime minister to announce an orderly transition.
At Monday
lunchtime, the co-chair of the Labour Growth Group, Chris Curtis, once
considered a loyalist group, said Starmer could not deliver the change the
country needed. “I therefore think it’s time for us to look for new
leadership,” he said.
“And I
think what that means is the prime minister rightly now setting out a timetable
and an orderly process for a leadership election, and one in which Labour has a
discussion about the vision for the country and what changes we think are
needed in order to face the very real challenges that Britain currently faces.”
Curtis
was the first MP known to be close to the health secretary, Streeting, who
called for Starmer to go. Other MPs have followed, including the Scottish
Labour MP Alan Gemmell and Streeting’s constituency neighbour Jas Athwal, as
well as his parliamentary private secretary, Joe Morris.
Allies of
Streeting said that he had no plans to speak on Monday and reiterated his
support for the prime minister. However, some MPs believe he is on the brink of
declaring he will run. Others suggested a big beast on the soft left – such as
Miliband – would run just to stop him.
Also on
Monday, four junior frontbenchers – all PPSs – resigned and called for Starmer
to go: Morris from the Department of Health, Tom Rutland from the Department
for Environment, Naushabah Khan in the Cabinet Office and Melanie Ward at the
Ministry of Justice.
After the
ministerial aides resigned, Downing Street moved to announce the appointment of
a new raft of PPSs, including Sean Woodcock to the Cabinet Office and David
Burton-Sampson to the Department of Health.
Others
who have called for the PM to go include many of the 2024 intake, including
David Smith, Luke Myer, Markus Campbell-Savours, Tony Vaughan, Fred Thomas and
Sarah Smith. Others included the ex-ministers Catherine McKinnell and Justin
Madders.
But
others put out statements saying they feared a change of prime minister would
play into the hands of Nigel Farage.
In a
Labour MPs’ WhatsApp group, Natasha Irons, MP for Croydon East, wrote: “Bottom
line, changing leader because Nigel Farage has forced us to is not something
any of us can come back from. Anyone who thinks we can needs to wake up.”
Another
MP said: “I think we have to face up to the fact everyone one of them is
fucking useless. Andy’s strategy has been a disaster. Angela has bottled it. Ed
is clearly hiding to nothing. Wes is awol. God knows what Catherine West is
doing. I am not quite sure how we ended up here.”
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