By Jack James | May 14, 2026
Wes Streeting today wrote to the Prime Minister to inform him of his resignation, following a large number of Labour MPs calling for Sir Keir to resign and begin the process of electing a new Leader of the Labour Party.
In his resignation letter, he criticised the Prime Minister, saying: “It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election” and “Where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. This was underscored by your speech on Monday. Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords.”
There had been much speculation within the Streeting camp about whether the former Secretary of State would launch his leadership bid today. However, rather than taking the leap straight away, he decided to call for a timetable for Starmer’s departure.
This is just one small part of a wider challenge to the Labour leadership. The widely discussed possible candidates are popular in different parts of the party.
Andy Burnham, who is not even an MP, has been widely viewed as a challenger to Starmer since late last year. He is currently the Mayor of Greater Manchester, meaning he would have to convince a sitting MP to stand down and trigger a by-election to return to the Commons. Should he succeed, he would need the backing of 80 MPs. All of this would have to happen within a tight schedule, under the shadow of threats from the Greens and Reform.
Angela Rayner, the former Deputy Prime Minister, is another likely candidate. She refused to rule out standing in an interview with ITV today, following the settlement of her tax issues with HMRC. Rayner had been widely expected to receive a Cabinet role in the near future, but should she decide to stand, all of that would change.
Ed Miliband, the current Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero and a former Labour leader (2010–2015), has also been named as a potential contender. The Telegraph reported that he was one of the first Cabinet ministers to privately ask Starmer to set out a timeline for his departure.
Al Carns, the Armed Forces Minister and former Royal Marine, also emerged today as a future contender. Elected in 2024, he served in every British military campaign over the last 15 years. As a “fighting man”, the question remains whether he can secure the 80 signatures he needs.
All of these candidates’ camps are working hard to build the support required. However, nobody dares to fire the starting pistol. So for now, we can expect more resignations, more strong words, briefings from Downing Street, and even more Labour MPs expressing their views.
Either senior figures will resign, launch campaigns and challenge Starmer, or the Prime Minister will seize the narrative once again and remain in power.
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