Streeting squirms as under-siege Starmer jibes at his leadership bid and markets wobble over Labour chaos – with Health Secretary set to quit tomorrow

Wes Streeting agonized as he opposed Keir Starmer’s attempted coup in the House of Commons today.

While the Prime Minister used his King’s Speech response to joke about people making ‘MP lists’, the Health Minister oddly raised his eyebrows.

This was a clear reference to the number of backbenchers calling for his resignation – now well over 90.

The surreal change comes as Mr Streeting is set to break Labour’s leadership bombshell by resigning to mount a challenge tomorrow.

But he was still in the Government’s front row for the Commons debate this afternoon. Mr Streeting appeared to get the cold shoulder from Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson as she tried to strike up a conversation.

Sir Keir implored MPs not to ‘get caught up in the politics of division’ as he announced his new legislative programme.

But questions are growing about whether he will remain in No 10 long enough to implement the measures.

Experts have warned of market panic due to chaos at the heart of the government.

There are fears that gilt rates and sterling, the government’s main means of borrowing, could ‘rapidly enter crisis territory’.

Mr Streeting’s bid to unseat the prime minister took off after he held a brutally brief 16-minute meeting in No10 this morning.

As pressure mounts on Sir Keir today:

• Rachel Reeves is said to have toured the House of Commons tea room, imploring MPs not to support Mr Streeting;
• Andy Burnham’s allies claim he is almost ready to announce his return to the House of Commons; this includes a member of parliament stepping in to trigger a by-election;
• The Health Secretary will give broadcast interviews about NHS waiting lists tomorrow;

Sir Keir said: ‘This elegant speech was intelligently suggested by my honorable friend the Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah).

‘Members of the House will have read his extraordinary new book. The endorsement list is truly impressive, reaching over 100 members; Finally a list we can all get behind.’

In a sign of the Prime Minister’s weakness, Downing Street said this afternoon it had ‘full confidence’ in Mr Streeting, despite the apparent conspiracy.

While Sir Keir was flanked by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Rachel Reeves as MPs expected the King to arrive earlier, the Cabinet minister was notably absent from the front rows in the House of Commons.

He then appeared by the Speaker’s chair and appealed to the Lords to watch the Speech alongside Tory James Cleverly.

The Allies had undertaken to remain silent today to avoid embarrassing the King, but their intentions were soon revealed after unsuccessful negotiations with Ser Keir.

A senior government source told the Daily Mail: ‘Yes, it is happening. Wes is definitely after that.”

Another Labor aide said: ‘I don’t understand how they couldn’t get it done after all that briefing.’

The news caused government borrowing costs, which are near 28-year highs, to rise again.

Kemi Badenoch launched a brutal attack on Labour’s disarray in her response to the Speech.

Taking aim at Mr Streeting, he said: ‘Why don’t you just do your job?’

‘All we have is a bunch of re-announced policies. “Pursuing our brave veterans through the courts, legislating for digital ID, a policy they say they left us, banning trace searches, more class warfare that makes no one’s life better, scrapping NHS England, this is something the Prime Minister announced 14 months ago,” he said.

‘But I think the Minister of Health has been a bit distracted lately, hasn’t he? He’s talking nonsense right now, why don’t you do your job? Do your job.’

As Mr Streeting pushed her away from the other rows, Ms Badenoch added: ‘There’s no point in giving me dirty looks. ‘We all know what he’s up to.’

To Sir Keir, who was sitting uncomfortably glancing at his file, the Conservative Party leader said: ‘I know this will be a light-hearted debate in Congress, but as I have said before, this is a highly unusual moment.

‘The Prime Minister is on duty but not in power. Everyone is trying to act like everything is okay. All is not well.

‘In the last 48 hours, nearly 100 Labor Party MPs called on the Prime Minister to resign. Four ministers resigned

‘It is clear that his authority is gone and that he cannot deliver on the little contained in this King’s Speech.

‘This is a Government that has been in office for less than two years, has run out of ideas and has run out of ways.’

The King’s Speech package of 35 Bills – and several draft bills – includes steps towards rapprochement with the EU as well as increasing pressure towards Net Zero.

However, there have been no new attempts to restrict welfare spending after rebel MPs collapsed the last one.

There is also only tentative talk of ‘sustainable’ defense spending increases, with no timeline for the publication of the long-awaited investment plan.

Questions have also been raised over the lack of reference to Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood’s settlement rights regulation, which has infuriated many of Sir Keir’s critics.

Among the measures included in today’s Speech:

• An EU Partnership Bill would give ministers broad powers to adopt Brussels rules without a Commons vote;
• The Peerages Removal Bill could see Peter Mandelson aimed at being formally stripped of his title;
• The government again committed to a ‘transforming practices’ bill, but this was only a draft rather than the full law;
• Net Zero measures are playing a big role in the win of Ed Miliband, who is seen as a key source of strength in Labour’s leadership fight.

Wes Streeting tells allies he is ready to resign and pull the trigger on a challenge as soon as tomorrow

A grim-faced Wes Streeting walked out of Downing Street this morning after a meeting with Sir Keir that lasted just 16 minutes.

The King prepares to speak at the State Throne alongside the Queen today

Mr Streeting was notably absent from the House of Commons as the front row awaited the arrival of the monarch; Next to Sir Keir were Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood and Rachel Reeves.

The Prime Minister has come under fire for leaving the King in the lurch by having to hold the State Open in the middle of Labour’s full-blown civil war.

The speech was planned to be given today as a ‘firefight’ after local elections, but this tactic failed to quell anger over the attacks.

Sir Keir had a showdown in Downing Street this morning with Mr Streeting, who is widely believed to be behind the riot.

But the Health Minister left sullenly after just 16 minutes, unable to find any common ground.

The Prime Minister will then face a turbulent period in Parliament and his first clash with Kemi Badenoch since the disastrous local election will test the mood in Labor seats.

In the introduction to his speech package, Sir Keir highlighted global ‘volatility’, with the Iran and Ukraine wars causing chaos.

Warning that his dismissal would increase turmoil in the markets, the Prime Minister promised that ‘we will continue our work to stabilize the economy and support people with their living expenses’.

Apparently delivering a message to his own restive MPs, Sir Keir said: ‘In moments like these we face a choice.

‘We can choose to delve into the politics of grievance and division. Or we can choose to see this as an opportunity to deliver the change we promised the British people.’

Trump said that the government would end its ‘austerity policies’ in defense and that it would ‘stand strong with NATO’ despite the tensions with Donald Trump. But Sir Keir only said ministers would ‘move forward’ on the Defense Investment Plan, without saying when.

He said there was now a ‘greater urgency’ for change, including ‘charting a new direction for Britain at the next EU summit’. ‘We are putting Britain at the heart of Europe,’ he added.

The Prime Minister’s allies had previously dismissed the debate with Mr Streeting as a “quick cup of coffee”, saying he did not have the numbers or “guts” to challenge.

The party’s union paymasters jumped into the fray this morning, issuing a joint statement calling for a more Left agenda.

“It is clear that the Prime Minister will not lead Labor at the next election and at some stage a plan will need to be put in place to elect a new leader,” affiliated unions said.

Worryingly for Sir Keir, the next batch of Mandelson papers is due to be released as early as next week.

Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner are both hanging around as the question of who will replace Sir Keir dominates MPs’ debates.

Nigel Green, of financial consultancy group deVere, said: ‘If Wes Streeting resigns tomorrow and launches a leadership challenge, gold and sterling could move quickly into crisis territory.

‘Markets hate uncertainty, but they hate political vacuum even more.

‘A cabinet resignation followed by a leadership row would signal that the government is losing control of itself, with investors already questioning the country’s fiscal direction.’

In a dramatic incident at Westminster yesterday, four Labor Party ministers resigned, saying they no longer trusted the prime minister.

The number of Labor MPs who want him gone has risen to 90 and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was forced to deny he was on the verge of resigning after telling the Prime Minister to set a timetable for his departure.

Keir Starmer and wife Victoria step out to watch the King’s Speech as the skies open in Westminster

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers will find it difficult to view the government’s legislative agenda as either ambitious or a break with the status quo.

‘As front-line services continue to be disrupted and the tax burden soars towards record levels, the government appears increasingly interested in expanding the quangocracy, advancing nationalization and ignoring ballooning welfare legislation.

‘This government’s program is wallowing in the mire of mediocrity and sums up Keir Starmer’s tenure perfectly. Taxpayers deserve better.’