Britain鈥檚 health minister was forced to repeatedly deny Wednesday that he planned to oust prime minister Keir Starmer, hours after sources said the under-fire premier would fight off any leadership challenge.
The briefing war exposes tensions at the heart of Starmer鈥檚 beleaguered government. Rumours are swirling about threats to his job following a budget later this month in which Labour is expected to break manifesto promises.
鈥業鈥檓 not going in to demand the prime minister鈥檚 resignation,鈥� Wes Streeting told Sky News. 鈥業 support the prime minister. I have done since he was elected leader of the Labour Party.鈥�
The 42-year-old is seen as one of Labour鈥檚 better performers and has long been touted as a potential replacement for Starmer, among others including interior minister Shabana Mahmood.
Streeting鈥檚 denial, repeated to other broadcasters, followed anonymous briefings by Starmer allies who told journalists he would fight any bid to replace him, in what appeared to be an attempt to warn them off.
鈥楰eir knows he is already fighting a leadership contest. When it comes, he won鈥檛 resign. He will fight it,鈥� one supporter was quoted as saying by The Times daily.
Streeting urged the prime minister to sack the people behind the briefing, calling it 鈥榮elf-defeating鈥�.
Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory over the Conservatives in July last year, returning the centre-left party to power for the first time in 14 years.
But his government鈥檚 poll ratings and his personal standing among the British public have nosedived due to struggles on key issues such as economic growth and irregular immigration.
Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage鈥檚 hard-right Reform UK party has been leading by double-digit margins in many national polls for much of this year.
The next general election is not expected until 2029, but the government faces an important test at local elections in May 2026.
First, Starmer must navigate a difficult budget on November 26, when finance minister Rachel Reeves is expected to raise taxes for workers despite a pre-election pledge not to do so.
A challenge for the Labour Party leadership would require the support of 20 per cent of its MPs, which would currently require 80 nominations.
Some Labour MPs fear a contest would plunge the party into similar chaos experienced by the Conservatives, who cycled through five leaders between 2016 and 2022 as it fought amongst itself.
A backbench Labour MP said that the party should focus on governing and trying to claw back support from Reform.
鈥榃e have a commanding majority, a clear timeline until the next election and a compelling narrative of fixing the country after 14 years of damage and decay, including through Farage and the Tories鈥� Brexit mess,鈥� they said.
