Chris Curtis Mp reports 90 Labour MPs backing Starmer exit
chris curtis mp reports that Keir Starmer was facing a planned challenge to his leadership from Health Secretary Wes Streeting, with more than 90 of his Labour MPs calling for his exit. The leak came moments before King Charles III sat down for the King's Speech, putting Starmer under pressure as he tried to keep his government moving.
Starmer intended to carry on in the top U.K. job despite the mounting backlash. His legislative agenda for the year ahead was delivered in parliament by King Charles III on Wednesday, but the timing of the leak meant the dispute over Streeting and Starmer broke into public view at the same moment.
Tuesday at Cabinet
On Tuesday, Starmer’s aides briefed the prime minister’s comments at Cabinet while the meeting was still going on. Later that day, he refused to see Streeting except for a brutally short meeting hours before the King's Speech, a sign of how quickly the relationship had deteriorated inside government.
News of Streeting’s intention to quit leaked moments before the king sat down. One Streeting ally accused the leak of coming from allies of No. 10 to force Streeting’s hand at the worst possible time. The dispute left Starmer dealing with a challenge to his authority while the government was preparing to set out its programme for the year.
King Charles III Speech
The king’s speech had been arranged to fall days after the May elections, giving No. 10 a political firebreak between the vote and the ceremony. In the event, that break between plotting and pageantry did not happen, and the leadership challenge surfaced before the speech began.
That timing mattered because the government’s programme was being delivered while Starmer was trying to hold his party together. More than 90 MPs were calling for his exit, leaving him to face both the public set-piece of the King's Speech and the private fight over whether he could keep his job.
Tory Leadership Precedent
Gavin Barwell recalled Theresa May winning her first confidence vote by Tory MPs in 2018 months before she resigned, while Guto Harri pointed to the effect of early briefing in another Conservative crisis. Harri said, “Getting that line out did change things,” and added, “Having a head start is about as good as it gets in a difficult race.”
Harri also said, “I rang Chris Mason [the ’s political editor] and told him [Johnson] had fired Gove because he was snake and treacherous.” Beatrice Timpson said, “If the line is awful, it’s better just to have the awkwardness of not being contactable and resurfacing when you have a better line and a better answer.” The immediate question now is whether Starmer can blunt the rebellion before it hardens into a wider break in Labour support.
