Streeting leaves No 10 after brief talks with Starmer as PM fights on
Wes Streeting has been to Downing Street for crunch talks that lasted less than 20 minutes this morning as the Prime Minister continues to fend off calls to resign.
The Health Secretary did not speak to reporters on his way in or out of Number 10.
The talks with Mr Streeting, seen as one of the key rivals for the Labour leadership, come after Sir Keir has so far managed to see off an immediate threat this week despite ministerial resignations and at least 80 MPs calling for him to quit.
But on Wednesday morning, unions pulled their support, saying it is clear that Sir Keir will not lead Labour into the next election.
Sir Keir’s camp has suggested there is no consensus in Labour about having a leadership contest.
Cabinet office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told broadcasters Monday had been “turbulent” for the Prime Minister, but that MPs had not united behind a candidate to trigger a contest, adding “we are moving on”.
He insisted the two were “having a coffee” and dismissed that it was a showdown over Sir Keir’s leadership.
“Anyone would think we were talking about the final scene at a Casino Royale or something, looking at some of the coverage that we’ve had,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He earlier told BBC Breakfast: “There is no contest for the leadership of the Labour Party.
“There’s a very clear way to do that under our rules of 81 people nominating an alternative candidate. That hasn’t happened.
“The contest hasn’t been triggered. We are moving on. I’m not saying yesterday wasn’t turbulent. It evidently was, but we are moving, getting on with delivery.”
The King’s Speech on Wednesday will set out Sir Keir’s legislative agenda for the new parliamentary session, with some 35 bills to be laid out.
UK long-term borrowing costs meanwhile eased back after reaching a 28-year high on Tuesday as Sir Keir continues to defy calls to stand down.
However, Labour’s affiliated unions have called for a plan to be put in place for the election of a new leader of the Labour Party.
A statement from the TULO group, which represents 11 unions, said Labour “cannot continue on its current path”.
The unions, including Unite, Unison and the GMB, said: “It’s clear that the Prime Minister will not lead Labour into the next election, and at some stage a plan will have to be put in place for the election of a new Leader.”
Mr Streeting is among several Labour figures said to have ambitions to succeed Sir Keir, but has reportedly backed down from launching an immediate leadership bid.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, a leading figure from the soft-left of the party widely seen as a contender, would first need an MP willing to stand aside so he could fight a by-election and chart a path back to Parliament.
Sources close to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband have denied reports that he is preparing to run if Mr Streeting triggers a contest.
The Prime Minister meanwhile has sought to push on, already having replaced four ministers – including prominent MP Jess Phillips and health minister Zubir Ahmed, an ally of Mr Streeting – who quit the Government and called for Sir Keir to stand down.
Glasgow South West MP Mr Ahmed, who is an ally of the Health Secretary, said the situation was “unsustainable” and said it was “telling” that the whole Cabinet had not articulated support for the Prime Minister in the “full-throated way” they had previously.
“I think people who are articulating their dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister in private, they do have a responsibility to say that in public and directly to him, because this situation is unsustainable. It is now unstable and I think, therefore, we do need an expedient and orderly transition,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Published: by Radio NewsHub