Health Secretary Wes Streeting has resigned from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, saying he had “lost confidence” in the Labour leader following the party’s recent election losses.
In his resignation letter, Streeting defended his record at the Department of Health and Social Care, pointing to falling NHS waiting lists, improved ambulance response times and higher patient satisfaction. He described the NHS as being “on the road to recovery”.
However, Streeting said Labour was facing a wider political crisis, writing: “Where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift.”
He also said it was “now clear” that Starmer “will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election” and called for “a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism”.
Streeting warned that the rise of Nigel Farage and Reform UK represented “an existential threat” to the United Kingdom and its political values.
The resignation increases pressure on Starmer as Labour MPs continue discussing a potential leadership contest.
Under Labour Party rules, a challenger would need nominations from 20% of Labour MPs — currently around 81 MPs — to trigger a formal leadership contest.
ℹ️ BBC News
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