With rivals circling and the clock ticking, Sir Keir Starmer has less than a day to demonstrate his grip on power — as Rayner, Streeting and Burnham all ready themselves for a potential contest.
The scale of last week’s defeat was historic – nearly 1,500 council seats lost, the Welsh Senedd surrendered to Plaid Cymru, and Reform UK’s haul of more than 1,450 seats including control of multiple former Labour strongholds.
Over 40 Labour MPs have publicly called on Sir Keir to stand aside, which is a significant show of discontent, though the threshold for a formal challenge remains 81 nominations.
Acknowledging that the early part of his premiership was too downbeat, the Express understands Starmer will tell supporters on Monday: “People need hope. We will face up to the big challenges and we will make the big arguments.”
What has Angela Rayner said about Keir Starmer’s leadership?
Rayner held back from explicitly demanding Sir Keir’s removal but her intervention – a lengthy public statement mapping out her vision for Labour – left little doubt about her ambitions or her assessment of his leadership.
She called on him to “meet the moment and set out the change our country needs” and backed Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster.
“What we are doing isn’t working, and it needs to change. This may be our last chance,” she said.
The former deputy Labour leader said the Mandelson scandal had exposed a “toxic culture of cronyism,” warned that Labour was “in danger of becoming a party of the well-off, not working people,” and declared: “It is time to acknowledge that blocking Andy Burnham was a mistake.”
Could Andy Burnham replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader?
Burnham’s path back to Westminster is complicated by the fact he holds no parliamentary seat, reports the Metro. A colleague would need to trigger a by-election on his behalf — something Burnham ally Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich, flatly denied he was considering, calling such speculation “hallucinatory Jackanory.”
Lewis posted on X: “Burnham’s possible return matters not because of what it says about Labour’s leadership, but because of what it reveals about the British state: what it can still do, what it has forgotten how to do, and what kind of country it must become if it is serious about resilience.”
Left-wing MP Richard Burgon also weighed in, warning Labour was “in danger of a Trump-style government” if Starmer’s replacement came from the current cabinet. He said: “Keir must go. But we only get one chance to get this right. So he should set a timetable to stand aside, with a new leader in place by the end of the year. This would allow for a proper democratic leadership contest with a full range of candidates and a serious debate about how Labour changes course, the policies needed to rebuild support and how we stop Nigel Farage getting the keys to Downing Street.”
Is Wes Streeting preparing a Labour leadership bid?
Streeting has signalled to Downing Street that he could step up if required — but is drawing a careful distinction between readiness and plotting. He is assembling what allies describe as a leadership “case” to deploy if Sir Keir is removed rather than resigning.
One Streeting ally told the Daily Telegraph: “Wes has made it clear to No 10 that he won’t challenge Keir, but he is preparing a case if it all falls apart. Like most of the party, he thinks Keir is owed the chance to set out how he’s going to turn things around this week. He’s not plotting.”
Starmer could take on Farage
Electability against Farage is set to be the centrepiece of any Streeting campaign. His team cite Labour’s retention of Redbridge council, which covers part of his east London constituency, as tangible proof that he alone can hold the line against Reform.
The ally said: “This week has shown he can win. The results in Redbridge show that Wes can beat challengers on both the Left and Right. If there’s a contest, the next leader of the Labour Party has to be someone who can keep Farage out of No 10.”
Streeting’s team are also expected to cite NHS data due on Thursday, which is expected to show the health service has met or is close to meeting the target of seeing 65 per cent of patients for non-urgent treatment within 18 weeks.
By contrast, Streeting’s allies argue Rayner’s anti-Farage credentials are fatally compromised by Reform’s capture of Tameside — a council that covers part of her own patch in Greater Manchester.
Both Rayner and Streeting are understood to be holding back from an open challenge while quietly readying themselves for whatever comes next.