Labour lefties ‘plotting to get rid of Wes Streeting as PM’ – before he’s even got the job | Politics | News
Senior figures on the Labor left are already organizing to have Wes Streeting removed from Downing Street if he replaces Sir Keir Starmer. And insiders claimed the Health Minister would lack legitimacy and could be ousted almost immediately. A senior source on the soft left has told Bloomberg that Team Streeting’s push for a “swift” and “swift” leadership contest – designed to block Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament – amounts to a “seam” that would thoroughly ruin any Mr Streeting premiership.
They warned: “If Wes thinks he can pull some stitches to avoid a fair process, he will have no legitimacy, even if he holds office for a short time. He will not support the government in the House of Commons and we will challenge him at the first opportunity. He will be lucky if he can last longer than a head of lettuce.”
The extraordinary intervention shows Labor is drifting towards open civil war as pressure mounts on Sir Keir following last week’s disastrous local election results. Attention has turned to the succession battle and the deep fissures it has exposed, with more than 60 Labor MPs calling on the Prime Minister to set a departure date.
Mr Streeting has emerged as a leader in the betting markets, with some bookmakers offering him as short as 7/2 to become the next prime minister.
While his allies are reportedly pushing for a quick race, Mr Burnham, a popular figure on the soft left and center of the party, cannot be elected because he is not currently sitting in the House of Commons.
Mr Burnham was blocked from running in the by-election by the Labor Party’s National Executive Committee earlier this year; this is widely seen as a move designed to protect Sir Keir.
The mayor’s allies say he plans to return to Westminster within weeks, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of a sitting MP. Soft left MPs are now demanding a more orderly process to allow Mr Burnham to compete.
The row has triggered a meltdown between left-wing and soft-left MPs who see Mr Streeting, a leading moderniser, as too right-leaning on issues such as welfare reform and public service delivery.
They fear a street victory will solidify the centrist edge they oppose, especially after Labor lost to both Reform England on the right and the Greens on the left.
One MP described the atmosphere as toxic: “Parliamentary Labor is a mess, with deputy ministers and backbenchers openly briefing against each other.”
Angela Rayner, who has recently criticized the “toxic culture of favoritism”, has so far stopped short of directly joining the fight but is seen by many as another potential rival.
Labor rules allow for a medium-term leadership change without a general election, but the prospect of Sir Keir being sacked only to plot against his successor has alarmed some moderates.
One former councilor warned: “Repeated changes of prime minister so soon after a landslide in 2024 could appear chaotic to voters already disillusioned with the party.”
King III. As Charles prepares to deliver the government’s legislative program on Wednesday, Labor internal divisions threaten to overshadow any attempt at a reset.
With Sir Keir struggling to survive and his potential successors already at war, the party that came to power less than two years ago finds itself consumed by infighting that will decide its fate long before the next election.
