Main Points
- Allies of Britain’s health secretary Wes Streeting were telephoning Labour Party MPs on Wednesday night asking them to back him in an imminent heave against UK prime minister Keir Starmer.
- Starmer had a 16-minute Downing Street meeting with Streeting yesterday, after which Starmer said he had “full confidence” in him
- A challenger needs a minimum of 81 MPs – roughly one fifth of Labour’s parliamentary party – to pledge their formal backing to trigger a leadership contest under party rules.
- Backers of another would-be challenger to Starmer, the Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who is not an MP, were insisting he still had time to enter the race
- Starmer’s position has become increasingly tenuous since Labour’s hammering in elections across Britain last week
Key Reads
Ronan McGreevy – 30 minutes ago
Labour left issues warning to Streeting
Wes Streeting is deeply unpopular on the Labour left. This morning Richard Burgon, secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group in parliament, posted a message saying that if Streeting launches a leadership bid today, he will be ignoring the wishes of Labour-affiliated trade unions.
Burgon said: “Wes Streeting launching a leadership bid today would be deliberately flying in the face of this joint statement from all of Labour’s affiliated trade unions for an orderly transition.
“Dismissing our trade unions like this will not help us learn the lessons or help us stop Farage.” – Guardian
Members of the media gather outside Downing Street in London, awaiting further developments in the Labour leadership challenge. Photograph: EPA
Ronan McGreevy – 50 minutes ago
Reeves: Leadership contest could throw UK into ‘chaos’
UK chancellor Rachel Reeves warned this morning a leadership battle could plunge the UK “into chaos”’ and threaten its economic recovery.
Asked by the BBC about the possibility that health secretary Wes Streeting triggers a Labour party leadership race, Reeves argued that the government will be able to invest more in public services and help households and businesses because of the pick-up in growth.
UK chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves warned a Labour leadership contest could put the UK’s economic stability at risk. Photograph: Ben Montgomery/Getty Images
But, she said, that is only possible because of the economic stability the government has brought back.
Reeves added: “We shouldn’t put that at risk by plunging the country into chaos at a time when there is conflict in the world, but also at a time when our plan to grow the economy is starting to bear fruit.” – Guardian
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago
Starmer ‘would probably win leadership contest’
Keir Starmer would “probably win” a leadership contest if Wes Streeting succeeds in triggering one, a prominent Labour MP has said.
North Durham MP Luke Akehurst told LBC Radio: “He’s happy to stand against all comers. He would probably win. Labour Party members don’t like the idea of chucking their leaders out.”
Akehurst said he would back the PM and added that the Labour Party should not indulge in constant leadership struggles like the Tory party has done.
He added: “So long as he’s [Starmer] in the final two, I’m pretty robust about Keir holding on if there is a contest.
“But it would paralyse government. It’s causing huge market turmoil. We’ve already lost £3 billion of money having to go on interest payments because of this market turmoil which we could be spending on public services.”
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago
Andy Burnham’s radio absence fuels speculation 
Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham. Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images
Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham has pulled out of his regular phone-in radio slot on local radio.
He was due to appear on BBC Radio Manchester’s Mike Sweeney’s programme on Thursday morning.
It comes as speculation mounts over a potential challenge to British prime minister Keir Starmer’s leadership.
A spokesperson for Burnham told the BBC: “As you know, Andy doesn’t like to miss the hot seat.
“But this week, to get the best deal for Greater Manchester, he has to prioritise discussions arising from last week’s local elections.”
The election results for Burnham’s party were dire in Greater Manchester and across the country, while Reform UK and the Green Party made major gains.
Burnham is many people’s choice to succeed Starmer, but he cannot challenge for the leadership until he gets a seat in parliament.
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago
Race against time to find Andy Burnham a safe seat
A Labour MP has denied reports he is preparing to step down to allow Andy Burnham to stand in a byelection in a bid to return to Westminster.
There had been reports that Afzal Khan, the MP for Manchester Rusholme, was prepared to step aside and trigger a byelection for Burnham to run in.
The mayor of Greater Manchester would need to find a parliamentary seat to stand in, and then win it, to be able to stand in a leadership election.
He is said to have been speaking to MPs in the Manchester area to find somewhere to stand.
Khan told BBC News: “No, it’s not me. I’m not stepping down.”
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago
Rayner could put herself forward for leadership contest
Angela Rayner has suggested she could enter any leadership contest, should one be triggered by Wes Streeting on Thursday.
“I’ll play my part in doing everything we possibly can to deliver the change, because it’s not a personal ambition, I know the difference it makes,” she told The Guardian.
“Whatever role I can play, I will keep pushing and pushing hard because I want the people out there at the moment who are really struggling … to know that I’m putting all my energy into fighting for them.”
Coincidentally, Rayner has been cleared of wrongdoing by revenue. .
The former deputy prime minister has settled £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty after initially paying the lower rate, but has not paid any penalty as a result of the investigation. UK revenue was also satisfied there was no tax avoidance.
Former deputy PM Angela Rayner suggested she could enter any leadership contest, should one be triggered by Wes Streeting. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Rayner did not rule out endorsing a soft-left rival if they had a better chance of success in any contest, raising the prospect of potential candidates on her wing of the party agreeing who would represent them.
“I don’t think it’s a case of each person for themselves, but I do think it’s a case of people seeing how they can pull the party together and have the vision to take us forward. You have to play your role as part of a team,” she said.
But Starmer’s former deputy ruled out launching a coup herself. “I’ve made it clear that I wasn’t going to trigger the prime minister – and that I want to see change. I want to see actions, not just words.”
Asked whether Starmer should step aside, she said: “Keir will have to reflect on that.”
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago
UK economy shows surprising level of growth
Keir Starmer has received a timely if modest economic boost.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.6 per cent between January and March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
This was higher than the 0.5 per cent growth that most economists had been expecting, and marks the highest since the first quarter of 2025.
The ONS also said GDP increased by 0.3 per cent in March, surprising economists who had been expecting growth to slow following the onset of the war in the Middle East.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “Growth picked up in the first quarter of the year, led by broad-based increases across the services sector.
“Within that wholesale, computer programming and advertising performed particularly well.
“Production also grew slightly, while construction returned to growth, though only partly reversing weakness at the end of last year.”
Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago
How does a Labour leadership contest work?
Leadership heaves are familiar to British politics in recent years, but it’s party rules that govern such contests, and Labour’s work differently to the Tory systems that produced Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in succession after David Cameron’s post-Brexit resignation.
Labour rules state a candidate with the support of 20 per cent of MPs ( or 81 from Labour’s current total of 403) can trigger a challenge. The prime minister can automatically contest that challenge if he wishes – and he is expected to do so.
Any other candidate with 20 per cent support can also then join the ballot – though the numbers may run out quickly as some have pledged support for the PM, and more than 100 people have ministerial or other government roles from which they would be expected to resign if they lost confidence in the leader.
The vote is by ranked choice, with the first candidate above 50 per cent becoming leader and last-placed candidates eliminated until someone triumphs.
Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago
Rayner cleared of tax wrongdoing
Wes Streeting comes from the right of the Labour Party, so it is expected that if a contest were triggered, MPs of the so-called soft left would produce their own candidate to oppose both him and Keir Starmer, whose poor local election results, personal polling and perceived struggle to get to grips with Britain’s problems have rendered his position shaky within the party.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham lacks the seat in parliament required to challenge in an imminent contest, so an alternative is required.
By coincidence, the way has been cleared overnight for another candidate, however. Angela Rayner has been cleared by tax authorities of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs, the Guardian’s Pippa Crerar reported overnight, paving the way for a potential leadership bid.
The former deputy prime minister has settled £40,000 (€46,000) in unpaid stamp duty after initially paying the lower rate, but has not paid any penalty as a result of the investigation. The revenue commissioners were also satisfied there was no tax avoidance.
Ed Miliband, a former Labour leader, has also featured in discussions as an option should he be needed.
Ronan McGreevy – 3 hours ago
Streeting poised for challenge
A contest for the leadership of the UK Labour Party and a place in 10 Downing Street threatens again to break out on Thursday with health secretary Wes Streeting thought to be on the verge of resigning from cabinet.
Allies of Streeting were phoning fellow MPs on Wednesday night asking for support in a putative heave against prime minister Keir Starmer, London Correspondent Mark Paul reports
A challenger needs a minimum of 81 MPs – roughly a fifth of Labour’s parliamentary party – to pledge their formal backing to trigger a leadership contest under party rules.
Starmer is automatically entitled to enter the contest to defend his position. It is understood he plans to fight that contest if it is triggered.