Wes Streeting is set for showdown talks with Keir Starmer today.
The Health Secretary has made no secret of the fact that he is preparing for a leadership contest and has a shadow team in place.
But he has also signalled that he does not want to wield the knife, despite many of his closest supporters calling for the PM to go.
After he was snubbed as he tried to talk to the Prime Minister after Cabinet on Tuesday, the MP for Ilford North was granted a meeting set for this morning, before the King’s State Opening of Parliament.
He was expected to discuss the ‘turbulence’ gripping the party and ask how the PM planned to ‘get us out of this mess’, allies said.
But, it was reported last night, he may use the meeting to row in behind Sir Keir, ending speculation about his ambition for now.
The Guardian reported ‘very senior Labour sources’ suggesting Mr Streeting would ultimately ‘climb down, though talk candidly about the issues’.
Sources added that he would keep his counsel after the meeting, so as not to distract from the King’s Speech.
Wes Streeting is set for showdown talks with Keir Starmer. He is pictured leaving Number 10 Downing Street today
Mr Streeting, Catherine West and Keir Starmer are pictured when they first took their first seats in the Commons in 2015
Sir Keir had refused to meet with his Health Secretary yesterday, despite asking Cabinet members not to discuss his leadership around the No 10 table and speak to him individually afterwards instead.
Mr Streeting was one of the last to leave Downing Street, having seemingly waited around for an opportunity to talk that never arrived.
Resignations continued yesterday – including from Mr Streeting’s allies – prompting further speculation about an imminent leadership challenge.
Among them were housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, home office minister Jess Phillips, health minister Zubir Ahmed, and justice minister Alex Davies-Jones.
Joe Morris, Mr Streeting’s parliamentary private secretary and a member of the Government, resigned on Monday evening, calling for a ‘swift’ exit by the PM, a scenario that would favour the Health Secretary as rivals Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner have barriers in their way.
Supportive MPs have also called for the PM to go, including Chris Curtis, the co-chair of the Labour Growth Group, Mr Streeting’s neighbouring MP Jas Athwal, and MP Alan Gemmell.
Mr Streeting’s team has insisted that the MPs have called for the PM’s resignation of their own accord, rather than being prompted by him.
As the numbers of MPs calling for the PM to step down increased, so did pressure on the Health Secretary to launch a formal leadership contest.
Sir Keir and Mr Streeting are pictured during a visit to University College London Hospital in September 2024
But Mr Streeting, who was first elected to Parliament along with Sir Keir and former leadership challenger Catherine West in 2015, faces a major battle to get past the Labour members, who see him as too Right-wing.
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MPs from the Left of the party – who favour Mr Burnham – have also vowed to block any attempt to parachute Mr Streeting into No 10.
They said they would challenge Mr Streeting ‘at the first opportunity’ if he became PM.
A source accused him of trying to stitch up the leadership and said he’d be ‘lucky to outlast a lettuce’.
MPs in that camp criticised allies of Mr Streeting for calling for a ‘swift’ contest before the Manchester mayor can find a seat.
‘If Wes thinks he can pull off some kind of stitch-up to avoid a fair process, he will have no legitimacy even if he briefly ends up in office,’ the source said.
‘There would be no support for the Government in the Commons and we would challenge him at the first opportunity.’
John McDonnell branded Mr Streeting ‘Mandelson’s protege’ as Labour tensions raged
Fellow Left-winger Richard Burgon said Mr Streeting was conducting a ‘palace coup’
Miatta Fahnbulleh joined the rebellion this morning, becoming the first minister to quit calling for Sir Keir to go
Should Keir Starmer step down as Labour leader?
However, if Mr Streeting holds back and refuses to call for the PM to go, he runs the risk that momentum is lost and his main rival – Mr Burnham – has time to plot his path back to Westminster.
On Tuesday, Business Secretary Peter Kyle suggested his friend Mr Streeting wasn’t planning to launch a leadership contest imminently.
He said that the pair had gone to the cinema to watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 in the run-up before the local elections.
