UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting prepares leadership challenge as Starmer faces mounting rebellion

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not directly address mounting calls for his resignation during Wednesday's House of Commons debate on the King's Speech, instead focusing on his government's legislative agenda as internal Labour Party tensions intensified.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is preparing to launch a leadership challenge as soon as Thursday, according to multiple Labour MPs and allies who spoke to British media. Streeting met Starmer in Downing Street on Wednesday for less than 20 minutes, with the content of the meeting undisclosed. A supporter of Streeting told the BBC that if the health secretary does not challenge Starmer, then "we'll have knifed ourselves for nothing."

Under Labour rules, a leadership contest requires the support of 81 MPs — one-fifth of the parliamentary party. Starmer would automatically be a candidate in any such contest. Three Labour MPs told POLITICO they had been informed by Streeting's camp that he plans to resign as health secretary and challenge the prime minister, with one saying that will happen as early as Thursday.

A spokesperson for Streeting sought to downplay the speculation, telling The Times: "Wes is the health secretary, he is proud of his record of falling waiting lists and a recovering NHS." The spokesperson added: "He is not planning to say anything following his meeting with the prime minister that might distract from the King's Speech."

Downing Street said Starmer has "full confidence" in the health secretary. "I am not going to get into the content of internal meetings, but the prime minister has full confidence in the health secretary," Starmer's official spokesperson said during a briefing for journalists following the King's Speech.

The political backdrop is increasingly strained within Labour, with 88 lawmakers publicly calling for Starmer to resign, while more than 110 others have expressed support for him to remain in post. The rebellion was triggered by Labour's heavy losses in local elections in England and Wales on May 7, 2026, when the party lost nearly 1,500 seats, most of them to Reform UK.

Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told Parliament: "The Prime Minister is in office, but not in power." She added: "In the past 48 hours, nearly 100 Labour lawmakers have called for the prime minister to resign. Four ministers have quit. It is clear his authority has gone and that he will not be able to deliver what little there is in this King's Speech."

If Streeting launches a bid, he could face competition from the soft-left of the party. Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, is seen as a potential soft-left candidate but is not currently an MP. Burnham's supporters told POLITICO there is a plan to force a by-election in early June so he can return to the Commons in time to enter a leadership race. "Andy can absolutely contest. A timetable can be accommodated that would allow a by-election to take place by early June," a senior Burnham-backing MP told POLITICO.

Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister who resigned in September 2025 over a tax issue, is considered a possible contender. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is also being discussed as a soft-left standard bearer, with one soft-left MP saying Miliband is already organising and sounding out support from colleagues.

Streeting's majority in Ilford North is small; he faced a strong challenge from a pro-Palestinian independent in the 2024 general election, coming within 600 votes of losing his seat. Leaked text messages from February 2026 showed Streeting privately calling Israel's actions "war crimes" and endorsing sanctions. In the messages, Streeting told former ambassador Peter Mandelson that Israel was "committing war crimes before our eyes" and accused Israel of "rogue state behaviour. Let them pay the price as pariahs with sanctions applied to the state, not just a few ministers."