UK political situation

Sources: “Things have changed” for potential Starmer challenger

Close allies of UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting have told several media outlets that “things have changed” since yesterday. At the time, it was announced that Streeting would formally challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership of Labour and the position of prime minister.

According to The Times, the reason may be that Angela Rayner, who has also been highlighted as a possible challenger to Starmer, has urged her supporters not to release a demand for a leadership vote from Streeting. Sources say that Rayner is also interested in the job, but she hopes that Starmer will resign of his own accord.

– She will not initiate a leadership vote as long as the prime minister is in office, but she will not stand by and watch as another candidate is crowned party leader and prime minister, says one of her allies.

81 of Labour's 403 MPs would need to vote yes to trigger a leadership vote.

Sources: Right-wing challenger Streeting asks left for help

According to sources to several media outlets, UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting will launch an attempt to unseat Keir Starmer and take over from his own boss on Thursday.

According to Sky News political correspondent Rob Powell, Streeting, like Starmer, comes from the right wing of the Labour Party. In other words, he is not necessarily popular on the left wing of the party.

The Times sources state that Streeting has contacted the party's MPs to ask for their support. 80 votes are needed to trigger a leadership vote, and Streeting's aides are said to have urged MPs on the left to vote yes, even if they ultimately plan to vote for another challenger.

If a leadership vote is called, several candidates on the left of the Labour Party, such as Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband, could also throw their respective hats into the ring.