A senior Labour MP has urged Wes Streeting to “be brave” and launch a leadership bid immediately, in the latest sign of mounting unrest inside the party over Sir Keir Starmer’s future.
Veteran Labour parliamentarian Graham Stringer said the Health Secretary should move now if he intends to challenge for the leadership, warning that hesitation could cost him the moment.
“Wes has got to go now,” Mr Stringer said, as speculation intensifies over potential successors to the Prime Minister following Labour’s bruising local election losses and deepening divisions over the Government’s direction.
“It’s a matter of bravery,” Stringer told The Telegraph.
“Tony Blair didn’t wait for Gordon Brown when John Smith died. He was brave, he didn’t know what was going to happen and went for it. Bravery is part of leadership.”
The intervention is likely to heap further pressure on Downing Street after days of infighting, ministerial resignations and increasingly open criticism from within Labour ranks.
Mr Streeting has emerged as one of the most talked-about potential leadership contenders amid growing concern among MPs about Labour’s collapsing poll ratings, voter dissatisfaction and market jitters surrounding the Government’s economic strategy.
The Health Secretary has so far publicly backed Sir Keir, while insisting his focus remains on NHS reform and cutting waiting lists.
However, speculation in Westminster over his ambitions has intensified in recent days after reports emerged of private meetings and discussions among senior Labour figures about the party’s future leadership.
The latest comments from Mr Stringer will fuel claims that parts of the parliamentary party now believe a leadership contest is inevitable.
Labour has faced an increasingly turbulent political climate following disastrous local election results, in which the party lost more than 1,200 council seats and suffered setbacks in key urban strongholds.
Senior figures, including Sadiq Khan, have also publicly criticised the Government’s messaging and economic approach, while trade unions linked to Labour have warned the party “cannot continue on its current path”.
The political uncertainty has rattled financial markets, with gilt yields climbing sharply amid concerns over instability at the top of Government and fears of a broader split between Labour’s moderate and left-wing factions.
Mr Streeting is widely viewed as one of the leading candidates should Sir Keir eventually step aside, alongside figures including Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham.
Allies of the Prime Minister insist Sir Keir remains determined to fight on and lead Labour into the next general election despite the mounting rebellion around him.
But with MPs now openly discussing succession plans and senior Labour voices publicly urging potential challengers to act, the sense of crisis surrounding the Government shows little sign of easing.
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