Wes Streeting says he has 80 backers to challenge Starmer
Wes Streeting said on Tuesday that he has at least 80 MP backers and will stand in any Labour leadership contest triggered after the Makerfield by-election. The Labour MP and former health secretary said he wants Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for leaving office, rather than forcing a fight himself.
Streeting and the 80 MPs
Streeting told POLITICO he is “absolutely confident” he has the support needed to challenge Starmer. Party rules require 80 MPs to submit names before a formal members’ vote for leader can begin, which puts his claim at the center of any challenge.
“I have every intention of standing in that contest,” he said. “For the avoidance of doubt, for the umpteenth time, I will be standing.”
He also said he does not want to trigger a contest himself. “I hope the prime minister will at that stage reflect on his own position and set out a timetable. I think that would be a better way forward for everyone and would enable that better culture that we aspire to,” he said after delivering a speech on economic policy in London’s financial district.
Makerfield and Burnham
The immediate pressure point is the Makerfield by-election on Thursday. Andy Burnham is widely predicted to win it, which would make the Greater Manchester mayor eligible to run for party leader and could open the route to a contest against Starmer.
Streeting took swipes at Burnham’s politics as he set out his own position. “I don’t believe we’ve sat through 40 years of neoliberal failure,” he said during comments about his vision of progressive capitalism, and he described himself as the “plucky underdog.”
Supporters of Streeting and Burnham hope mass Cabinet resignations could force Starmer’s hand. Starmer’s allies, however, believe Streeting does not have the 80 backers he needs.
Streeting’s 2029 pledge
Streeting also drew a line around what he would do if he became prime minister. He ruled out calling a general election before 2029 and said, “We don’t live in a presidential system, we live in a parliamentary democracy. I was elected on that manifesto. I will deliver on that manifesto, and I’ll seek to go above and beyond that manifesto.”
He said he would stick to the manifesto he was elected on and promised to recruit 20,000 scientists, engineers and AI experts from overseas over the next parliament. He also promised emergency legislation to speed up the building of key infrastructure.
The contest now turns on two pressures at once: whether Streeting can prove he has the numbers, and whether Starmer responds after Makerfield with a timetable of his own. If Burnham wins on Thursday, the path to a summer-long fight for control of No. 10 is already open.
