Wes Streeting resigns.Image: keystone
May 14, 2026, 2:31 p.mMay 14, 2026, 2:33 p.m
British Health Minister Wes Streeting has resigned in protest against Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The 43-year-old is expected to challenge Starmer for the party leadership. The post of party leader also includes the office of Prime Minister, which Starmer would have to relinquish in the event of defeat.
Streeting announced his resignation in a written statement on the X platform. It says he has lost trust in Starmer’s leadership. It would be “dishonorable and unprincipled” to remain in office. It is also clear that Starmer “will not lead the Labor Party into the next general election”. Labor MPs and unions wanted “the debate about the future to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factional battles”.
British media had been speculating for days about Streeting’s imminent resignation. Last week, Labor suffered massive losses in local and regional parliamentary elections in favor of the right-wing populists Reform UK with Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage. As a result, Starmer was asked to resign by a number of MPs – but the Prime Minister stuck to his office.
Nomination triggers ballot
To challenge Starmer, Streeting needs the support of 81 of the more than 400 Labor MPs (20 percent) who must nominate him. This would trigger a ballot among Labor members and other eligible voters, in which other candidates could also apply, each with 81 supporters from the group.
Starmer would automatically be elected as acting party leader. The party’s executive committee decides on the timing. Starmer last won a party leadership election in April 2020 after his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn announced his resignation.
Streeting is actually considered a B candidate
Starmer welcomed Streeting to Downing Street on Wednesday morning for a short talk. A spokesman for Starmer assured on Thursday morning that the head of government had “complete confidence” in his health minister. The formulation has long been seen as a sign that the relationship is anything but good.
Actually, the ambitious Streeting is only considered a B candidate for the leadership election. He is hated in the left wing of the party. He also had a close relationship with Labor veteran Peter Mandelson, who was caught up in the abuse scandal surrounding the late US multimillionaire and sex offender because of his close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Former deputy head of government Rayner comes into play
The mayor of Manchester, Andrew “Andy” Burnham, would be given a greater chance of turning around the fortunes of the Labor Party – but the 56-year-old’s necessary return to parliament was prevented by the Labor leadership at the beginning of the year.
From the left of the party, ex-Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner surprisingly came into play. The 46-year-old resigned from her post as housing minister and deputy head of government in September last year because of underpayment of real estate transfer tax.
The tax due has now been paid and she has been cleared of suspicion of tax evasion, the Guardian reported. Rayner had always maintained that it was a mistake. She now indicated to the Guardian that she wanted to run for party leadership in an election. (hkl/sda/dpa)