Health Secretary Streeting Resigns Amid Challenge to Starmer

Britain’s health secretary Wes Streeting has resigned from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet, a move widely seen as the opening step toward a leadership challenge following Labour’s poor showing in recent local elections.

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The resignation marks the first departure of a senior minister linked directly to the growing unrest inside the governing Labour Party, where pressure has been mounting on Starmer to step down.

Streeting confirmed his decision in a letter to the prime minister, praising Starmer’s international leadership while sharply criticising his domestic political direction.

“You have shown courage and statesmanship on the world stage — not least in keeping Britain out of the war in Iran,” Streeting wrote. “But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift.”

He added: “It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election.”

Growing pressure after election losses

Calls for Starmer to stand aside intensified after Labour suffered heavy losses in local and regional elections last week, results that highlighted voter frustration with the government’s economic record.

Despite winning a landslide victory less than two years ago, Labour has struggled to deliver on pledges to accelerate economic growth and raise living standards.

A sluggish economy and persistent consumer price inflation have made it harder for the government to meet expectations among voters and within the party.

Streeting, long viewed as an ambitious figure within Labour’s moderate wing, is widely regarded as one of several potential challengers to Starmer.

Rayner signals possible leadership bid

Another possible contender, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, also signalled she could take part in a leadership contest.

Rayner, who left the cabinet last September amid questions about her tax affairs, said she had reached an agreement with tax authorities to resolve the issue.

Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, she said Starmer should “reflect on” his position and indicated she was ready to “play my part” in any leadership election if one were triggered.

Streeting and Starmer are both associated with the party’s moderate faction, while Rayner has strong support among Labour’s left wing and has called for higher minimum wages and increased taxes on wealthier individuals.

Starmer resists calls to quit

Starmer has insisted he will remain in office, warning that a leadership contest would destabilise the government at a time when it faces major domestic and international challenges.

He told lawmakers that an internal fight could create “chaos” when the government should instead focus on issues including the cost-of-living crisis and conflict in the Middle East.

Some economic data offered the prime minister limited support. Britain’s economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of the year, up from 0.2% in the previous three months, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Finance minister Rachel Reeves said the figures suggested the government’s economic strategy was beginning to deliver results.

She told the BBC that the recovery was possible because the government had restored economic stability, adding that political upheaval could put that progress at risk.

Other figures linked to leadership race

Within Labour, attention has also turned to other figures who might enter a potential leadership contest.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has been widely mentioned as a possible candidate, although he would first need to return to Parliament. Allies have suggested a sitting MP could resign to allow him to contest a by-election.

Burnham cancelled his regular appearance on a local BBC radio programme this week, saying he needed to prioritise discussions following the election results.

Political analysts say Labour has historically been reluctant to remove its leaders while in government, unlike the Conservative Party.

Jonathan Tonge, a politics professor at the University of Liverpool, said Labour had often endured electoral defeats but rarely moved against its leaders.

Still, he warned the current unrest could evolve into a serious internal conflict despite the party’s large parliamentary majority.

“If a civil war opens up within a Labour Party that’s supposed to be governing us at present, it’s an extraordinary state of affairs given it’s less than two years since Keir Starmer won one of Labour’s greatest election victories ever,” he said.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 15 May 2026