- The formal competition to replace Starmer has not yet been activated.
- Cabinet ministers express their support for the prime minister.
- Prime Minister Starmer signals that he will continue fighting.
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was fighting to stay in power after his main government rival resigned on Thursday, accusing him of political drift, and others positioned themselves for possible challenges to his leadership.
The ruling Labor Party’s disastrous results in last week’s local elections have plunged Britain into a new crisis, just under two years after Starmer won a huge majority on a promise to bring stability and end a decade of political chaos.
After days of calls from Labor lawmakers for Starmer to resign or set a timetable for his departure, Wes Streeting resigned as health minister, the first senior minister to break cover. He said he was resigning because “it is now clear that they will not lead the Labor Party in the next general election”.
While Streeting did not trigger a formal contest, the prime minister’s potential rivals, such as Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, have begun to position themselves for a potential leadership challenge that Starmer has said he will fight.
Streeting criticized his former boss in a resignation letter in which he said he was stepping down to allow for a broad debate about what comes next – a debate in which Labor wanted to focus on ideas rather than personalities or factions.
“It has to be broad and needs the best possible field of candidates,” Streeting wrote.
Streeting says Britain needs vision
“Where we need vision, we have a void. Where we need direction, we have drift,” Streeting said in scathing comments about Starmer. “Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords.”
A source close to Streeting said the former health minister had enough support to mount a formal leadership challenge, but had not triggered an immediate contest because he felt it would be preferable for Starmer to set out an orderly timetable.
Starmer responded with a letter expressing regret at Streeting’s resignation, saying that “it is up to us all to rise to what I see as a battle for the soul of our nation” and “turn the page on the chaos.”
He quickly appointed one of his supporters, James Murray, as Streeting’s replacement.
The British leader has said he will fight to keep his job, and sources close to him say he is determined to fight any leadership competition.
The pound fell following Streeting’s resignation and the news that Burnham would try to return to parliament.
Potential candidates face off against Starmer loyalists
Another possible candidate in any leadership contest, former Starmer MP Angela Rayner, said earlier on Thursday she had been cleared of deliberate irregularities in her tax affairs, a bar to challenging the prime minister. But he did not say whether he wanted to make a formal offer.
Burnham was also offered a path to a possible leadership challenge. After a Labor lawmaker in Greater Manchester said he would resign his parliamentary seat, Burnham said he would seek permission to stand as a Labor candidate.
He would have to win an election for that seat in order to challenge Starmer, a goal he failed to articulate.
“Much bigger changes are needed at national level to make everyday life more affordable again. That is why I am now seeking people’s support to return to Parliament,” he said in X.
Another potential candidate is Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, a former Royal Marine seen by some Labor as a new face who could refresh the party.
But Starmer still enjoys some support. Education Minister Bridget Phillipson reiterated her backing for Starmer and suggested the rest of her cabinet team of senior ministers also supported him.
“This is now an opportunity for us to pause, take a breath as a party and try to put an end to all of this,” he said.
Starmer, 63, has taken a “business as usual” approach, with Finance Minister Rachel Reeves warning lawmakers not to plunge Britain into chaos when its anemic economy was turning a corner. The economy grew unexpectedly in March.
Business leaders fear that another leadership race to elect what would be Britain’s seventh prime minister in about a decade would deter investment, something the Labor government has said it must improve to turn around Britain’s fortunes.
Political instability has raised borrowing costs, and some investors are nervous about the possible election of a more left-wing, fiscal and pro-spending Labor prime minister.
“There have been too many changes in government strategy and leadership, just in my six years as chief executive,” Amanda Blanc, head of insurance company Aviva, told Reuters. “And I think that’s detrimental to a major economy like the UK and how we’re perceived abroad.”
