Conflicting Labour accounts over size of Streeting's supportpublished at 16:24 BST

16:24 BST

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Getty Images

Some folk, who reckon they have got a grasp of the numbers and opinions among Labour MPs, and are no fans of Wes Streeting, are suggesting he might be nowhere near the 81 MPs he needs to trigger a leadership contest.

One person I’ve spoken to, who has a credible case for having a decent sense of the numbers, claimed they don’t think there are more than 44 committed backers of Streeting.

"The idea you can brief something into reality is for the birds," this person tells me over the phone.

They claim that there would have to be a lot of ministerial resignations for him to get across the line.

To be clear, right now, there are lots of different claims and counterclaims, which are often mutually incompatible.

The MP Allan Gemmell earlier told Radio 4's World at One programme that Streeting does have the numbers.

Both people can’t be right. But it’s an insight into the conversations, plotting, briefing and intrigue within the Labour Party right now.

I’ve asked the Streeting camp for their reaction.

Image source, ITN POOL

Wes Streeting’s resignation marks an opportunity for Labour to “draw a line” under leadership speculation, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says.

"I fundamentally disagree with the position he’s taken. I’m sad that he’s gone, but I think this is now a chance for us to pause, take a breath as a party and try and draw a line under all of this," she says as she calls Streeting's decision "a real shame".

Asked if she disagrees that there is a vacuum in the vision of the prime minister, she says: "No, I don't."

Phillipson - the first cabinet minister to respond to his departure - says she credits Streeting for delivering "brilliant achievements" as a "brilliant health secretary".

She adds that Starmer has her "full support" and has got "the backing of cabinet", but that the leadership speculation has been "really difficult" and "massively disruptive".

A former Labour Party adviser tells BBC News he does not believe Wes Streeting "has the numbers" to challenge Keir Starmer, describing his resignation as a "ploy" to retain support until next week.

Matthew Torbitt says: "I have a strong suspicion we will see a deal now be done between Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham."

Nick Watt
Political editor, BBC Newsnight

Wes Streeting is unlikely to be on Keir Starmer’s Christmas card list for some time. This is what a Starmer ally has told me: "Wes has failed the most basic rule of politics: he can’t count.

"He never had the numbers. We counted and counted and counted and recounted. The highest number we got for Wes was 44.

"We could not see how he could get higher than that. We knew that, Wes will have known that. So all that stuff from Wes about how he is resigning in the party interest to allow a broad debate is a load of old guff. He never had the numbers.

"So what does Wes do when he doesn’t have the number? He seeks to brief his way out of a difficult position. So his closest ally resigns from the government.

"Then he briefs that the cabinet are turning on Keir. No they’re not. So the government goes on.

"We will appoint a new health secretary. The sad thing is we have a good story to tell today. Good growth [the UK economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of the year, according to new figures from the ONS]. But nobody is talking about that."

• As a reminder, Streeting would need the backing of 81 Labour MPs to trigger a leadership contest against Starmer

Andy Burnham would face two big barriers in any Labour leadership contestpublished at 15:55 BST

15:55 BST

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The reason the timeline to any potential leadership contest is so crucial is because of one man - Andy Burnham.

Burnham has a lot of support among Labour MPs. The so-called soft left of the party seemed to coalesce around him in recent days, but he is not an MP - so right now he would not be eligible to stand in any sort of leadership election.

He would first need to find a seat; and then need to win a parliamentary by-election. He would only take a seat in the north-west of England, so someone would have to step down for him.

That is all going to take time.

I spoke to several Andy Burnham supporters yesterday who told me their understanding was he did have a seat which he could run in and try to become an MP again. We haven't heard what seat that is.

We've heard some speculation that some people have been asked to step aside for him and they've said no.

Any leadership election, if it included Andy Burnham, wouldn't even be able to start until all of that had happened.

There are many parts of the north-west where Reform is now doing very well, where the Green Party is doing very well. It will be difficult. There are two big barriers there to Andy Burnham.

Image source, PA Media

We've been hearing a lot from supporters of newly resigned former Health Secretary Wes Streeting saying he is planning to trigger a leadership challenge to remove Keir Starmer from No 10.

But his is not the only name that has been floated around as a potential contender to the Labour - and the country's - leadership.

One of them is Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. He is unable to take part in any immediate race as he is currently not an MP, though he may be able to find a seat and convince the party to let him stand. He has strong support from Labour MPs and polls suggest he is the most popular Labour politician with voters.

Earlier today, he pulled out of a regular appearance with the BBC, citing the need for discussions around last week's elections results - this is rare.

The other is former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner. Earlier, she told the Guardian that she has resolved the tax issue that cost her her job in government and is now ready to "play my part" in the anticipated debates about Labour leadership - you can find a reminder on that tax row here.

Like Burnham and Streeting, Rayner has strong support among Labour MPs, although as a Greater Manchester politician on the left, much of her base overlaps with Burnham's.

For a contest to be triggered, one contender would need to have the backing of 81 MPs. After that, other candidates could join the contest if they also have 81 backers - this may make it trickier for politicians who have overlapping support bases.

Others possible contenders include former leader and current Energy SecretaryEd Miliband, Defence minister Al Carns, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from Ilford North

Image source, PA Media

In the last general election in 2024, Wes Streeting came very close to losing his seat in Ilford North - there were only 500 votes in it.

An independent candidate, who stood partly on the issue of the war in Gaza, came very close to the scalp of a senior cabinet minister.

I was here in Redbridge last week when Streeting told reporters after the local election results that he would back the prime minister - that it was for the whole of the government to show it could change and deliver what it promised at the general election.

Labour held on to control of the local council, despite taking a kicking in other parts of East London.

Streeting argued that this showed that Labour could take the battle for votes to its opponents on the left and on the right, in the case of Reform.

He will use his constituency in his pitch to his party if and when he does launch a leadership campaign, because he would argue that the results here show how Labour can continue to win.

Health secretary resigns amid continuing standoff with doctorspublished at 15:25 BST

15:25 BST

Hugh Pym
Health editor

Wes Streeting leaves the Department of Health and Social Care with the doctors' dispute in England unresolved. This remains a challenge for the government.

Within hours of Labour's election victory in 2024 he was pushing to re-start talks to solve the row over junior doctors' pay in England.

Strikes had taken place since March 2023 with the doctors' union, the BMA, in a bitter dispute with the Conservative government. It wasn't long before Streeting announced a deal with more money offered, arguing that it needed Labour to sort out the problem.

But by last year, the BMA was staging more walkouts by resident doctors (formerly know as juniors), calling for higher pay and more training posts.

The health secretary promised more on the jobs issue but argued that there wasn't the money to add to previous generous wage deals.

And that's where we are now - with a continuing standoff.

What's more, consultants and senior medics are balloting for action in their own pay dispute. The shadow of wider strikes in England this summer is looming whoever is in the secretary of state's chair.

Becky Morton
Political reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Alan Gemmell – who is backing Wes Streeting to be the next Labour leader – insists the former health secretary has the support of more than 81 Labour MPs.

This number – 20% of the parliamentary party – is how many must publicly back a single candidate to trigger a leadership contest. Gemmell has told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme that Streeting has “taken a principled decision today not to trigger a contest”.

“It's clear in conversations with MPs and with the unions that the party wants a discussion, a battle of ideas, an open contest, a broad contest for the direction that we should take and how we fix the problems that we're in,” the MP for Central Ayrshire says.

“I hope that we will see over the next few days a range of people setting out their stall for why we need a more ambitious agenda for our government," he says.

"I'm sure that we will see Wes making the argument for why he would be a great leader of our country."

Pushed over whether Streeting would throw his hat in the ring, Gemmell says: “I can't tell you what Wes will do tomorrow.” He adds: “We have had a principled decision by Wes to resign from the government having lost confidence in the prime minister.”

Image source, Reuters

Keir Starmer faces growing pressure to step down after Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary.

The PM will now need to find a replacement for the cabinet minister - as well as fight off a possible leadership contest, although one has not been called yet.

Streeting's strategy appears to be to pile the pressure on the prime minister to quit, writes our political correspondent. It would mean that Labour MPs could avoid having to challenge Starmer.

But Downing Street has previously said that Starmer will fight any leadership challenge mounted against him.

Streeting needs 81 Labour MPs - 20% of the Parliamentary Labour Party - to agree to back him if he wants to challenge Starmer in a leadership contest. Other candidates could also join so long as they also secure 81 backers.

A leadership contest can also be launched if Starmer resigns.

As a reminder, nearly 90 Labour MPs have said the PM should go or have called for him to set out a timetable for his departure.

However, over 150 MPs have also indicated support for the prime minister or said now is not the right time for a leadership contest.

Image source, Jeff Moore/PA Wire

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has reacted to Wes Streeting's resignation, describing it as "a hit job" on the prime minister.

She says Labour "has now descended into civil war", adding: "It doesn't matter which Labour MP is in charge. They're all queuing up to make things worse."

Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski describes Streeting as "more of the same, but even worse" than Starmer.

He adds: "If Labour thinks Wes Streeting is the answer, they obviously don’t know the question the country is asking."

David Doogan,thenewly-elected Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has also weighed in. Reacting to a post on X about Streeting's resignation, he quotes a line from Labour's 2024 manifesto: "We can stop the chaos."

Image source, PA Media

We are yet to hear from the prime minister following former Health Secretary Wes Streeting's resignation.

Downing Street said earlier today that Starmer would fight any leadership challenge mounted against him - the “position hasn’t changed since he set that out on Monday”, the PM's official spokesman said.

• As a reminder: If a leadership challenge was to be triggered, the prime minister would automatically be on the ballot paper if he chose to contest it

Starmer told his regular cabinet meeting on Monday that while he takes "responsibility" for Labour's disastrous election results, the "process for challenging a leader" has "not been triggered", and he and the cabinet should "get on with governing".

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Image source, EPA

Sources close to former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner have told the BBC she would be prepared to enter a leadership contest if necessary, as a candidate of the centre-left.

Despite Wes Streeting’s resignation, a formal leadership challenge has not been launched.

His camp insist he has the support of the 81 Labour MPs that are necessary to trigger a contest, but that he wants to have a "broad" debate which could take place if Starmer steps down.

While Rayner isn’t angling for the top job, now that her tax affairs have been settled she would be willing to carry the centre-left banner against Wes Streeting on the party’s right.

Some MPs have expressed interest in a "balanced ticket" with a centre-left leader and a deputy from the right or vice versa, but I understand Angela Rayner believes there should be a contest between the two wings.

A survey by the Labour List - an independent website catering for Labour Party members and supporters - suggested that if Keir Starmer contested a leadership election, he would defeat Wes Streeting but struggle to defeat Angela Rayner or Ed Miliband, and lose by some margin to Andy Burnham.

Image source, PA Media

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has become the first cabinet minister to resign from Keir Starmer's government in the wake of last week's elections results.

He follows four other ministers who quit earlier this week.

On Tuesday morning, communities minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, MP for Peckham quit. "The public does not believe that you can lead this change - and nor do I," she told the PM.

Jess Phillips was next to resign as safeguarding minister, and said that "deeds, not words are what matter" and that the current government was not "grasping this rare opportunity with the gusto that's needed".

She was closely followed by victims minister Alex Davies-Jones, MP for Pontypridd, who said now is the time for "bold, radical action".

Finally, there was Zubir Ahmed, MP for Glasgow South West, who quit as a health minister. He described Starmer's position as "wholly untenable" and called for him to set out his timetable for an "orderly transition".

Streeting's strategy seems to be to pile pressure on PM to quitpublished at 13:56 BST

13:56 BST

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

The Streeting strategy now seems to be getting his supporters to pile pressure on the PM to quit, and therefore avoid Labour MPs having to decide whether to challenge Keir Starmer.

"We wait and see what Keir does," says one senior ally of the former health secretary. "There’s still a chance Keir goes of his own accord and sets a timetable and ends this chaos."

Supporters of Wes Streeting claim he has the 81 MPs needed to mount a leadership challenge. They also suggest more ministers could resign from government later today, although not necessarily at cabinet level.

Image source, Jeff Overs/BBC

Catherine West, the MP who just days ago threatened to challenge Keir Starmer's leadership, has been talking to Radio 4's World At One following Wes Streeting's resignation.

She says "the important thing is we are now having the honest conversation which we need to have", adding that last week's elections are now behind Labour and the next challenge for the party is how to beat Reform UK.

Asked twice if Streeting's resignation is what she wanted, West doesn't answer but says she reiterates she wants to see a "honest conversation" - and for the cabinet to "get around the table and nominate someone".

She says she wants to see "people coming forward" to stand as leader, including the prime minister.

"Because, of course, many of us like Keir very much as a person," she says. "He's got excellent credentials on the international stage and he could well win a competition if he put his name forward."

Asked who she would vote for in a Streeting vs Starmer contest, West says: "Well, we don't know who the other candidates are."

Streeting wants this to be about Starmerpublished at 13:41 BST

13:41 BST

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

There is one especially brutal paragraph in Wes Streeting’s letter.

He writes: "Where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. This was underscored by your speech on Monday.

"Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords. You also need to listen to your colleagues, including backbenchers, and the heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics."

This will resonate with many who have served this government as ministers or officials, including some who are still in those roles.

In combination with the section of the letter where Streeting calls for a broad contest, this is the former health secretary trying to depersonalise the issue.

The debate this week has been about Streeting, his conduct and his campaign.

Now Streeting wants it to be about Starmer, his leadership and where he is taking the Labour Party.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Two of Wes Streeting’s closest cabinet allies, Peter Kyle and Pat McFadden, are not quitting and continue to support the prime minister.

It’s not a great surprise given they were among those who firmly backed the prime minister after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

But it suggests there will not be a slew of resignations to follow Streeting’s, at least at cabinet level.

Wes Streeting has resigned as health secretary, amid speculation that he could launch a bid for the Labour leadership.

Here is a run down of the key lines in his resignation letter -

Streeting says in his letter to the prime minister that he has "lost confidence" in Keir Starmer's leadership, so it would be "dishonourable and unprincipled" to remain in post.

He calls last week's election results "unprecedented" both in terms of the scale of the defeat and the consequences of the failure, adding that progressives across the UK are "increasingly losing faith" in the Labour Party's responsibility of offering hope that Britain's best days lie ahead.

The former health secretary also calls out specific reasons for the "unpopularity" of the current government including the decision to cut the winter fuel allowance and the "island of strangers" speech made by Starmer in May 2025.

He tells Starmer: "You also need to listen to your colleagues, including backbenchers, and the heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics."

Streeting says it is now clear Starmer will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election, and that the debate about what comes next needs "the best possible field of candidates".

He adds that serving as health secretary was "the greatest joy of my life", saying that the NHS is "on the road to recovery," but that there is "so much more to do".

Image source, Reuters

Onus is now on Andy Burnham to prove he has a route into Parliamentpublished at 13:23 BST

13:23 BST

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, EPA

The most crucial paragraph of Streeting’s letter in terms of what happens next is his penultimate paragraph, where he says this:

“It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour Unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism. It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this.”

A broad debate is code for Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, being able to stand as a candidate if he is able to.

To be able to become a candidate, Burnham would have to become an MP.

The onus is now on Burnham to prove that he does indeed have the plausible route into Parliament (ie an MP resigning to hand over to him) that his allies have claimed he has for some weeks now.

If Burnham cannot come up with the goods, then it is likely that Streeting and his supporters will press for a rapid contest in which Streeting would be more likely to face off against Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, or perhaps former party leader Ed Miliband.