The PM was alerted to the Health Secretary’s intentions after a staff member accidentally texted details of his plans
Daily Telegraph 01/05/26
Wes Streeting has the backing of enough Labour MPs to launch a leadership challenge within days, The Telegraph has learnt.
The Health Secretary has recruited more than 81 MPs – the minimum required to trigger a challenge – and is now contemplating his next move.
Sir Keir Starmer was alerted to Mr Streeting’s intentions when a Downing Street staff member was accidentally texted details of his plans, including the “five pillars” of his campaign and his “PFG”, meaning plan for government.
Some of Mr Streeting’s supporters want him to strike as soon as next Friday, the day after the local elections, to capitalise on the anger among Labour members at what are expected to be disastrous results for the party.
He could either announce a formal leadership bid or resign from the Cabinet in the hope that others will follow and force Sir Keir to step down.
An early move would catch out Mr Streeting’s leadership rivals, who do not yet have campaigns ready to go, most notably Andy Burnham, the Manchester Mayor, who is ineligible to stand because he is not an MP. Angela Rayner is said to be undecided about whether to stand, and is part of a three-way conversation with Mr Burnham and Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, about being part of a soft-Left triumvirate seizing power.
However, Mr Streeting is wary of the risks of being first out of the blocks. History shows that politicians who topple leaders rarely succeed them, and there are strong arguments for letting someone else show their hand first or waiting to see whether Sir Keir quits of his own volition.
A spokesman for Mr Streeting told The Telegraph that he had “said repeatedly that he supports the Prime Minister” and that he was “completely focused on his job”.
Meanwhile, Mr Burnham’s allies have claimed he has a credible plan to return to Westminster “within weeks”, according to The Guardian.
He has identified several seats where MPs could step down to allow his leadership bid, and his team are understood to have lined up an “impressive” replacement for his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Mr Burnham’s plans include a “radical rewiring” of the state, encompassing changes to the electoral system and a 10-year growth plan, the paper reported.
There is speculation in Labour circles that Sir Keir will come under pressure to announce a timetable for his own departure if, as expected, Labour suffers heavy losses in the May 7 local elections. About 5,000 council seats are being contested in England, while Scotland and Wales will hold elections for their national assemblies, the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd.
One possibility is for Sir Keir to announce that he will step down after September’s Labour Party Conference, which would allow him a more dignified handover of power and give all of the contenders time to prepare properly.
However, not all Labour MPs are prepared to wait that long, and there are signs that Sir Keir’s premiership could unravel quickly once the election results are in.
One senior Labour source said: “I don’t think anyone really understands the scale of what is going to happen next week. Labour is going to lose in places it has never lost, including in parts of London. It will be destroyed in the Midlands and the North, and once the northern barons turn against Starmer, it’s over. It will be carnage.”
Under Labour Party rules, at least 20 per cent of MPs must publicly back a challenger in order to force a leadership contest. There are 403 Labour MPs, meaning 81 signatures are required.
Earlier this week, 67 Labour MPs either voted against the Government or did not vote on a Conservative motion to investigate whether Sir Keir misled Parliament over the Lord Mandelson scandal, which was seen as an indication of the growing opposition to his premiership.
There are major splits among senior Downing Street staff about what to do next. Sir Keir is being urged by Vidhya Alakeson, his acting chief of staff, to buy himself time by carrying out a Cabinet reshuffle immediately after the elections, with Mr Miliband replacing Rachel Reeves as Chancellor and Ms Rayner replacing Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary.
However, Amy Richards, his political director, is said to be advising against a reshuffle, arguing that Sir Keir will simply make more enemies by doing so. Others privately say the Prime Minister is too weak to be able to move ministers out of their jobs.
If Sir Keir is toppled and there is a full-blown contest to replace him, it would be the first time Labour Party members have been asked to choose not only a new leader but a new prime minister.
It is 50 years since James Callaghan was chosen to succeed Harold Wilson, but at that time it was Labour MPs who elected leaders, not party members. When Sir Tony Blair handed over to Gordon Brown in 2007, Mr Brown’s only opponent – John McDonnell – failed to secure the support of enough MPs to enter the contest, so there was never a vote.
A spokesman for Mr Streeting said: “Wes has said repeatedly that he supports the Prime Minister. He is completely focused on his job, in which he has cut waiting lists to their lowest level for three years and got ambulances arriving faster than for half a decade.”
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