By Mukesh 
A competition to oust British Prime Minister Keir Starmer from No. 10 Downing Street drew closer on Thursday (May 14, 2026), with U.K. Health Secretary Wes Streeting — seen for months as a potential contender — resigning , citing recent election losses for Labour and Mr. Starmer’s leadership style.
The Health Secretary said he had surpassed targets set by Mr. Starmer for cutting National Health Service (NHS) waitlists for medical appointments — a key voter concern.
Despite this, Mr. Streeting said, he had chosen to resign “ having lost confidence “ in the Prime Minister’s leadership. Mr. Streeting warned of the growing dangers of nationalism, racism and the hard-right Reform UK party. Mr. Starmer too has warned of these, but as for reasons to not plunge the country into “chaos” by having a leadership contest.
A total of 81 MPs is required to officially request a leadership contest. Though over 90 MPs have wanted Mr. Starmer to go following Labour’s losses in council and regional elections last week, a sufficient number of lawmakers has not coalesced behind any one contender. Mr. Streeting is on the right flank of the Labour Party compared to the other potential candidates for Mr. Starmer’s post — Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Energy minister Ed Miliband and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.
Mr. Starmer has in recent days vowed to fight back in any contest for his post.
“It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election,” Mr. Streeting wrote in his letter dated May 14, adding that Labour MPs and workers’ unions associated with Labour wanted a debate on what comes next based on ideas not personalities.
Support for Mr. Streeting was below that for Mr. Starmer as per Labour List, which describes itself as a think-tank that supports the Labour Party but is independent of it. As per this poll, Mr. Streeting would secure 23% of support among Labour members, compared to Mr. Starmer’s 53%.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Rayner announced on Thursday (May 14, 2026) that she had been exonerated by the tax authorities of wrongdoing and settled her tax bill — the issue around which she had resigned in 2025. Earlier, she had told The Guardian newspaper that she would not trigger a leadership contest, although she did not rule out contesting in one.