Wes Streeting has heralded the end of the Starmer premiership – but he’s unlikely to win the crown
TThe sense of relief in Westminster when Wes Streeting’s resignation letter finally arrived was palpable.
Even the former health minister’s critics and enemies in the party were worried that by 1pm he was “putting it on the bottle” again; this challenge was trending on Monday afternoon.
While the Prime Minister was hanging out in his Downing Street bunker, “in office but not in power”, as Kemi Badenoch put it, MPs were complaining that “we can’t just let it go, we need to figure this out”.
Mr Streeting clearly wanted to leave with a final achievement in his previous briefing, and this morning it was announced that the NHS had achieved its provisional target of 65 per cent of NHS patients being seen in less than 18 weeks.
His resignation shows that he now believes he can get the required number of fellow Labor MPs to support his potential challenge for the leadership; But his letter’s call for a longer contest and the absence of an immediate proposal suggest he is still trying to buy time to line up his supporters.
But the big picture here is that this will bring a much quicker end to the Keir Starmer premiership.
Although the current former health minister has not yet officially launched his fight, his intentions are clear.
The move needed to happen now because a delay would have allowed the much more popular and unifying candidate Andy Burnham to return to parliament as an MP; all the while, amid growing rumors that allies are considering resigning their seats to give him a chance to run for office. Instead Mr Burnham remained in Greater Manchester as mayor.
Sir Keir has made clear he will fight Mr Streeting for the leadership but he faces the prospect of a delegation of cabinet ministers approaching him this afternoon to tell him it’s over.
Once Mr Streeting formally submits a proposal, others are likely to follow.
Former deputy chancellor Angela Rayner, now free of tax troubles, is the obvious candidate on the left to replace Mr Streeting.
He is a “Marmite” character, but in a contest he is now the bookies’ favorite to win because of the make-up of Labor and union voters.
Meanwhile, it is not possible to eliminate other candidates yet. All eyes will be on Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, the former leader who lost the 2015 general election but is planning a second election.
Defense Minister Al Carns ready to make breakthrough, supporters say Independent last night. A distinguished former Royal Marines commander, he would bring a very different perspective to the senior role.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Affairs Minister Yvette Cooper are unlikely to enter the race, but their support could be crucial for the winning candidate, especially in gaining support from Labor MPs to get on the ballot.
But the truth is that Mr Streeting did what he always wanted to avoid. He was the man who used the knife to finish off Ser Keir. The old proverb “He who holds the knife [shall] The words “never wear the crown again” will hang over him.
But starting from Monday, everything would end this way. From the moment Chris Curtis, chairman of the growth group and Streeting ally, called for Starmer to go, the string of MPs demanding change has come from the former health secretary’s allies.
Independent first revealed that Streeting was ready to launch his bid. Now, after four days of plotting, he has finally plucked up the courage to leave the government and appears on the verge of running for the leadership.
But even now, for all his courage, it seems unlikely that he will prevail.
