Two high-profile Labour politicians appeared to position themselves this week to force a change of leadership at the top of the party, stopping short of an outright Commons challenge but signaling they want Keir Starmer to make way.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting delivered the clearest move on Thursday when he resigned — the first senior Cabinet member to quit in the wake of Labour’s heavy defeats in last week’s local and devolved elections. In a long resignation letter posted online, Streeting praised achievements from his time in office but said he had lost confidence in Starmer’s leadership and that remaining in post would be “dishonourable and unprincipled.” He described the election results as unprecedented both in scale and consequence and warned about a rise in nationalist forces across the UK.
Streeting, 43, a former London councillor who entered Parliament in 2015, acknowledged his admiration for parts of Starmer’s record while listing what he sees as substantive failings that contributed to the party’s electoral collapse.
At the same time, former deputy leader Angela Rayner signalled she may also be angling for a leadership role. Her team told reporters early on Thursday that the tax matter that prompted her resignation last year has now been resolved by the tax authority and that she had paid outstanding sums. Rayner gave an interview to The Guardian but declined to say whether she would seek to replace Starmer, telling journalists that “Keir will have to reflect on that.”
Both moves were widely interpreted as efforts to nudge Starmer into stepping down voluntarily rather than triggering a formal confidence vote in the House of Commons. Labour has so far retained strong formal backing from many MPs, with more than 100 members publicly signing letters of support for the prime minister after the election losses.
The resignations follow a bruising week for Starmer. A combative speech on Monday and a tense Cabinet meeting on Tuesday failed to settle unease inside the party after poor results in England, Scotland and Wales. Four junior ministers had already quit earlier in the week, and Streeting’s departure marks the first senior Cabinet-level break.
Last week’s elections were among the worst for Labour since its landslide win two years ago, when the party took power promising to end a decade of Conservative instability. Labour lost more than 1,400 council seats across England, bleeding votes to the right‑wing Reform UK and to the Greens on the left. In Wales the party plunged from 36.2% of the vote and 30 seats to just 11.1% and nine seats in the Senedd, dropping from the largest party to third place behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. In Scotland the Scottish National Party reasserted dominance at Holyrood, while Reform UK matched Labour’s seat total and other parties — the Greens, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats — were not far behind.
Streeting singled out the nationwide advance of nationalist and populist forces — from the SNP in Scotland and Plaid Cymru in Wales to Reform UK and Nigel Farage in England — as evidence of the political danger posed by Labour’s defeats. He framed his resignation as an act of principle intended to prompt reflection on the party’s direction.
Rayner, who is generally seen as further to the left of Streeting politically, had already stoked speculation earlier in the week with a forceful social media statement saying the party’s situation “needs to change — now.” Her early-morning statement about the tax authority’s resolution of her affairs was widely read as an attempt to clear the way for a renewed leadership role, although she repeatedly refused to confirm any ambition to launch a challenge.
Political commentators and British media have suggested both figures may be attempting to pressure Starmer into voluntarily standing down to avoid a protracted internal contest. That approach would sidestep the risks of a formal confidence process in Parliament, where many Labour MPs have so far remained publicly loyal.
Starmer’s position will be watched closely over the coming days as he and his closest allies try to steady the party. With senior figures openly questioning his leadership and senior resignations now on the record, Labour faces a fraught period of internal debate over strategy, messaging and who should lead the party into the next phase of government.