British Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from the Cabinet on Thursday, delivering a major public blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and declaring that he could no longer lead the Labour Party forward.
In his resignation letter published on X, Streeting wrote that it was now clear the PM would not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and unions wanted a debate about what comes next.
“It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour unions want the debate about what comes next,” he wrote.
He accused Starmer of offering a “vacuum” where vision should be and said he had “concluded that it would be dishonourable and unprincipled” to continue serving under him. While stopping short of formally declaring a leadership bid, Streeting instead called for a “battle of ideas” involving the “best possible field of candidates” to succeed the Prime Minister.
The resignation marks the most significant challenge yet to a Prime Minister already facing mounting pressure. More than 90 Labour MPs have reportedly called for Starmer to step down, while his allies have warned colleagues that a leadership contest could plunge the party into chaos.
The crisis follows a poor showing in local elections across England, Scotland and Wales on May 7. Labour lost 1,496 councillors and control of 38 councils in England, suffered a historic defeat in Wales where Plaid Cymru overtook the party for the first time in 72 years, and recorded its worst-ever result in the Scottish Parliament.
Reform UK gained hundreds of councillors and took control of 14 councils, including long-standing Labour strongholds in the Midlands and northern England.
Former deputy leader Angela Rayner, who was cleared on Thursday of deliberate wrongdoing in a tax affairs investigation, is seen as a potential leadership contender, though she told The Guardian she would not trigger a contest. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is also viewed as a possible successor, but he is not currently a member of Parliament.
Most Cabinet ministers remain publicly loyal to Starmer, and more than 100 backbench MPs have signed a pledge backing his continuation as party leader.
The Prime Minister has given no indication that he intends to resign.
