Minister’s bombshell Starmer prediction ‘he’ll go by end of the week’ | UK | News
Sir Keir Starmer could resign as Prime Minister without the need for a formal leadership contest by the end of this week, a Cabinet minister has said, as Labour’s post-election crisis deepens and rivals race to replace him.
The prediction came true as Wes Streeting made his move and briefed his allies that he was ready to enter the contest if circumstances warranted; He came close to mounting an open challenge to the incumbent Prime Minister.
Labor lost nearly 1,500 councilors in last Thursday’s local elections, surrendered the Welsh Senedd and watched Nigel Farage’s Reform UK capture more than 1,450 seats.
When will Keir Starmer’s fate be decided?
Cabinet members are understood to believe the final move will come within 48 hours of Starmer’s planned “re-speech” on Monday. “We must give him the opportunity to speak tomorrow,” said one minister, “but after that people will move. I expect by this time on Tuesday there will be well above the numbers needed to trigger a contest.”
A separate minister made a more direct statement: “I think he’ll be gone by the end of this week without having to race.”
The mechanism being discussed involves MPs presenting a list of names to Downing Street, confronting Starmer with an ultimatum to leave on his own terms or face dismissal. Streeting’s allies are also said to be considering throwing their weight behind a rebel challenge from little-known former Foreign Secretary Catherine West, who has publicly threatened to challenge Starmer directly if cabinet colleagues do not act by Monday.
The Western intervention, which stunned the party on Saturday, was initially dismissed as having no links to major rivals. But his uncompromising demand has since garnered parliamentary support, and whether he can reach the 81 nominations needed for a formal contest is now an open question. Columnist Dan Hodges, writing in the Daily Mail, described Streeting’s move as an act of “bravery” in a government where that quality is in short supply.
What will happen to Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner?
Streeting’s move dashed the ambitions of his rivals. Burnham was preparing to announce that he had secured his way back to Westminster through a by-election – a plan derailed by Streeting’s intervention, leaving the Mayor of Greater Manchester “stranded in his North West stronghold while events unfolded 200 miles to the south”, as the Daily Mail put it.
Rayner’s contribution was a lengthy overview accusing Starmer of “cronyism” and attacking Burnham’s veto of the Gorton nomination – but he conspicuously avoided the two things everyone expected: a demand for resignation and a declaration of his own ambitions.
Some Rayner allies claimed he was waiting to see if Streeting had officially launched his bid before entering the race. But another close friend told the Daily Mail he was “losing the stomach for a fight”, citing the unresolved stamp duty issue and concerns about his inner circle. “There’s a feeling that the moment has passed,” the friend said.
Could Ed Miliband join the Labor leadership race?
An unlikely name has emerged as a potentially high-profile opponent. Environment Secretary Ed Miliband is privately testing support among colleagues to regain the Labor leadership he held from 2010 to 2015, a minister has told Dan Hodges. “Ed was investigating a lot of people,” the minister said. “He’s told his friends his preference would be for Andy to stay afloat. But if he can’t then he’s ready to step in himself.”
The Express understands that the suggestion caught many in Westminster off guard, given Miliband’s previous insistence that he had no interest in returning to frontline politics at the highest level.
It’s only been 72 hours since Starmer responded to the election results with a “tone deaf – some might say brain dead” statement, branded by the Daily Mail. This show of defiance only hastened his unraveling.
