Allies of the British prime minister are signaling that he would vigorously resist any attempt by Labour MPs in the United Kingdom to challenge his leadership.
Supporters of UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer are reportedly concerned that his position could be under immediate threat, potentially as soon as shortly after the Budget in two weeks’ time.
Critics argue that this reflects Downing Street being “in full bunker mode,” a stance they say “won’t help the government out of the hole we’re in.”
Friends of Sir Keir are reportedly anxious about what they perceive as internal plotting to replace him, seeking to highlight the significant risks of a leadership challenge.
Potential names circulating among Labour MPs in the UK as possible successors include some of his closest cabinet allies, such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Speculation also surrounds Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and backbenchers like former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh.
Streeting’s ambitions, in particular, have raised suspicions among those loyal to the prime minister.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he dismissed the notion he might challenge Sir Keir as “self-defeating nonsense,” asserting he had no plans to run against the prime minister.
Asked if he might ever consider such a move, he said, “I cannot see circumstances under which I would do that to our prime minister.”
He suggested that the prime minister should sack the aide responsible for the briefing, describing it as “the worst attack on a faithful since Joe Marler was banished in The Traitors final.”
Streeting also added that there was a “toxic culture” in Downing Street that needed reform.
One minister commented, “He [the prime minister] will fight this,” referencing a key 2021 by-election in Hartlepool, which Labour lost to the Conservatives and which prompted Sir Keir to consider resigning.
“This is not a Hartlepool moment,” the minister added.
“He is one of only two people alive who have won a general election for Labour. It’d be madness to run against him after 17 months.”
Recent opinion polls suggest Sir Keir is deeply unpopular, possibly ranking as “the most unpopular British prime minister in the history of modern opinion polling.” Polling also indicates that Labour has secured no more than a fifth of the UK electorate’s support in recent months.
Yet, replacing Sir Keir is not straightforward. Labour rules require 20% of MPs, currently 81 in the House of Commons, to nominate a challenger.
Many within the UK Labour Party have long acknowledged that the government faces a likely crunch point after devolved elections in Scotland and Wales, as well as local elections across England next May.
While Labour is expected to underperform, some worry that waiting until then may be too late to consider a leadership change.
Downing Street appears to be acutely aware of the growing threat. One senior Labour MP said, “It’s all very well to say wait for the locals, but that’s my activist base I’m sending into the gunfire. I can’t lose all my councillors.”
Another Labour source added, “The list of reasons for people to move after the Budget are growing by the day. If Wes is brave and moves he may well be rewarded by being prime minister by Christmas.”
A government source described Downing Street as having “gone into full bunker mode, turning on their most loyal cabinet members for absolutely no reason.”
“Unfortunately there is a pattern of Keir’s team briefing against his own people – they did it to Angela, Lisa, Lucy, now it’s Wes’s turn,” the source continued.
“A circular firing squad won’t help the government out of the hole we’re in,” referring to former and current deputy leaders Angela Rayner and Lucy Powell, and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Labour peer Maurice Glasman told BBC Two’s Newsnight he saw no credible candidate to challenge Sir Keir, describing the leadership talk as “just noise.”
“There isn’t a clear direction, there isn’t a clear strategy… none of the candidates challenging Keir have any idea either,” he said.
When asked if Mahmood could handle the issues facing UK Labour, Lord Glasman replied, “For me, absolutely. I mean, she’s the only one of really genuine quality of the whole lot, but she’s got a job to do.”
He added that he fully supported the prime minister and opposed any leadership challenge.
Supporters of Sir Keir are cautioning UK MPs to consider the consequences carefully. They argue a contest could plunge the party into the same chaos that marked the final years of the Conservative government, potentially placing a leader without a personal mandate in power.
Some warn that such a move could destabilize international markets and undermine the prime minister’s working relationship with President Trump.
However, other ministers remain concerned about what they perceive as the UK government’s precarious position.
“It’s terrible. He [Starmer] is hated out there. It is worse than it got under Corbyn. I don’t see how this is sustainable until May,” one minister said.
A cabinet minister loyal to Sir Keir summed up the internal mood, “There are those who see it as a choice between this Labour government and perfection. The closer they can nudge us towards the policies they see as perfect, the happier they are. But the choice isn’t between us and perfection, it’s between us and Reform.”
The rise of Reform UK has been a recent focus in Downing Street. The prime minister regards Labour’s rivalry with Reform leader Nigel Farage as generation-defining, believing the risk of losing to Reform in a general election to be far worse than losses to the Conservatives.
Yet a growing number of colleagues remain unconvinced.
“We are not like the Tories. We’re not going to change leader more than once in a parliament,” one UK Labour MP elected last year said.
