Two Labour Party politicians have positioned themselves to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership. Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned, and Angela Rayner said her tax affairs were back in order.

Skip to main menu Skip to more DW sites Latest videos Latest audio Regions Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East North America Germany Topics Climate Equality Health Human Rights Migration Technology Categories Business Science Environment Culture Sports In focus Hantavirus Ukraine Iran Latest audio Latest videos Live TV Advertisement Politics United Kingdom UK: Health minister quits in likely bid to topple PM Starmer Mark Hallam with AFP, AP, Reuters 05/14/2026 May 14, 2026 Two Labour Party politicians have positioned themselves to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership. Wes Streeting refused to talk to the press when Cabinet met on Tuesday, May 12, and he resigned two days later Image: Jack Taylor/REUTERS Advertisement Two heavy hitters in the UK Labour Party sought to position themselves to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, albeit with neither announcing a direct challenge, instead seeming to encourage the embattled party leader to make way voluntarily. Health Secretary Wes Streeting made the most direct move, becoming the first senior member of Starmer’s Cabinet to resign in protest after Labour’s drubbing in local and regional elections last week . But former party deputy leader Angela Rayner also issued a crack-of-dawn alert to the press saying that the tax scandal that prompted her resignation was now resolved, in what was interpreted as an oblique statement of intent.

A combative Starmer speech on Monday and a tense Cabinet meeting on Tuesday both failed to calm the waters after the election losses. This comes just two years after Starmer and Labour won a large majority on promises to end more than a decade of Conservative-led chaos marked by frequent changes of prime ministers. Streeting published a lengthy resignation letter without further comment online. He began by recapping what he portrayed as successes during his time in the role.

What You Need to Know

  • Source: Deutsche Welle
  • Published: May 14, 2026 at 15:06 UTC
  • Category: World
  • Topics: #europe · #world-news · #politics · #government · #health-secretary-wes

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Curated by GlobalBR News · May 14, 2026