LONDON, May 15 — The UK health secretary resigned Thursday amid mounting pressure on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down following last week’s local elections defeat, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
In his resignation letter, Wes Streeting said he has lost confidence in Starmer’s leadership.
“Where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift,” he said in the letter posted on the X platform.
He added: “It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election.”
Streeting said what comes next should be “a battle of ideas … it needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates.”
Meanwhile, citing sources, British daily The Guardian reported that Streeting has enough support to challenge Starmer, though he is still hoping the prime minister will step down.
A source close to Streeting said he had the numbers, but “things are shifting.”
But allies said he was still hoping to avoid moving directly against Starmer and that a growing number of lawmakers are privately asking the prime minister to resign or set out a timetable for his departure.
Separately, Cabinet ministers told The Guardian that it was untrue they were planning to ask Starmer to step down on Thursday afternoon, accusing Streeting’s supporters of trying to “brief resignations into existence.”
This came after reports that Streeting was preparing a leadership challenge against Starmer, who has been under pressure from dozens of lawmakers calling for his resignation.
Following Streeting’s resignation, Starmer appointed James Murray the new health secretary.
Murray, 42, is a Labour and Co-operative lawmaker, meaning a Labour Party MP who is also endorsed by the Co-operative Party.
Before his new appointment, since last September he was chief secretary to the Treasury.
Lucy Rigby, meanwhile, has been appointed his replacement at the Treasury.
Under Labour Party rules, a leadership contest can begin either if the leader resigns or if 20 per cent of Labour lawmakers nominate a challenger.
Since Labour currently has 403 lawmakers in parliament, a candidate would need the backing of 81 lawmakers to formally launch a challenge.
Earlier this week, four junior ministers resigned from the Cabinet.
The pressure follows a series of damaging setbacks for Labour in last week’s elections.
In Wales, the party suffered a historic defeat in the Senedd (national parliament) elections, while in Scotland, the Scottish National Party retained power for a fifth consecutive term in the Scottish Parliament.
The elections, held across Scotland, Wales, and 136 English local authorities, were the largest electoral test since Labour’s landslide victory in the 2024 general election.
Since then, Starmer has said that he will “get on with governing” despite growing pressure over Labour’s election losses and calls for him to resign.
However, more than 80 lawmakers, as well as some of his Cabinet members, have called for him to resign immediately, or set a timetable for his leave.
