Political situation in the UK

Trump's advice to the crisis-ridden Starmer: "Get tough on you"

Donald Trump took the opportunity to give his pressured colleague Keir Starmer some tips before he got on the plane to China last night, reports Sky News.

- Open up your oil fields in the North Sea and get tough on you on migration, Trump said.

However, he did not want to answer whether he thought Starmer would resign.

In recent days, 90 Labour MPs have demanded that their prime minister resign. Starmer himself has said that he has no plans to do so.

Sources: Health Minister resigns - plans to challenge Starmer

UK Health Minister Wes Streeting plans to resign and instead challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party. Sources close to the minister told The Times.

– He will go for it. He will go for it tomorrow, says one of the sources.

Reports that Streeting plans to try to replace Starmer have been circulating for a long time. The two met earlier on Wednesday in a meeting that lasted only 16 minutes. Neither of them has wanted to comment on what was discussed.

– If Starmer’s supporters think this is over, they will be disappointed, says another of The Times’ sources.

Analysis: Weakened Starmer seems to be doing well for now

Keir Starmer’s strategy to avoid being challenged as Labour leader and prime minister is to oppose demands for a timetable for an orderly transition, writes the BBC’s Iain Watson in an analysis.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been identified as a possible successor, but Watson said Starmer’s allies are confident that Streeting will not be able to provide the level of support needed for their meeting on Wednesday.

“Which effectively means that this potential challenge is over before it even starts.”

While the most immediate threat has been averted, Starmer’s authority has been weakened by the departure of several ministers and more than 90 party colleagues urging him to hand over the reins, several writers in The Guardian wrote.

“While he appears to have survived for the moment, even his most loyal ministers admit that it is unlikely that Starmer will lead Labour at the next election unless he manages to turn around both his own and the government’s prospects.”