UK health secretary Wes Streeting to quit and challenge Starmer for leadership: Report

LONDON : Keir Starmer was facing his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health minister was reportedly readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his govt’s agenda.

As Starmer and his ministers stood in silence to hear King Charles read out that agenda, the ceremony was overshadowed by what could be the most dangerous threat to the PM since lawmakers began urging him to resign over one of Labour’s worst defeats in last week’s elections. The report in Times newspaper that health minister Wes Streeting was preparing to resign as early as Thursday to mount a leadership challenge could mean the Starmer govt’s agenda, outlined by Charles, might never be implemented.

Govt borrowing costs jumped on the report, though they later eased back, moving away from multi-decade highs hit Tuesday amid the ongoing political turmoil. Starmer’s spokesperson said the PM had full confidence in his health minister but declined to comment on an earlier meeting between the two men.

The health minister’s team said he would also not comment on that meeting, which took place at Starmer’s Downing Street office, to ensure he did not distract from the King’s Speech. Streeting later took to X to promote his achievements in tackling waiting times for Britain’s staterun health service. “Lots done, lots to do,” he wrote, failing to address the report.

Streeting would need the support of 81 Labour lawmakers to launch a leadership bid. That could encourage other rivals to enter the race, although two potential challengers, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and former deputy PM Angela Rayner, have to overcome hurdles before they would be able to run.

Starmer had hoped to shore up his waning authority by unveiling his govt’s agenda. But it offered little new to the more than 90 Labour lawmakers who have called on him to set a timetable for his departure. In the preface to the King’s Speech, Starmer said his govt had to break with a tradition of looking to the “status quo” for answers, promising “an urgent, activist Labour govt”.

However, the King’s Speech was mostly the formalisation of previously announced policies, including a bid to spur anaemic growth by building closer ties with EU.

Source: Reuters