Health secretary's resignation piles more pressure on PM

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]Are you going to stand for leader?

[00:00:03]The list of Labour MPs calling for the Prime Minister to resign has got longer.

[00:00:07]Now a cabinet minister has quit his top team in another move against Sir Keir Starmer following disastrous election results. Health Secretary Wes Streeting announces resignation from the cabinet today writing in a letter that where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. But he stopped short of triggering a leadership contest. Instead he told the Prime Minister it is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election. He says any contest should field a broad range of candidates and be a battle not of eagles but ideals.

[00:00:41]But will this move really push Sir Keir Starmer out? I think Keir Starmer will survive. I think they've had the people who are challenging him have underestimated his determination and his strength of character. He really is a very strong leader. We won the he turned the the Labour Party around and won a historically large majority at the last election. I think it's a unfortunate that Wes Streeting resigned. He has put his own personal ambition ahead of the national interest.

[00:01:12]And while there is widespread discontent among MPs about the direction of the Labour Party, Wes Streeting is not everyone's taste.

[00:01:19]>> [laughter] >> My preferred candidate as I said earlier this week would be Andy Burnham for the Labour leadership. I think that Andy is an experienced professional and effective politician who would represent the best leader for our party and for our country. I think it's important to recognize and I agree with Wes that one that any leadership contest that comes out should be one on policy and it is not one that should delve into petty factionalism but be one of ideas and that it does need to be a process that is orderly and effective and represents the broad spectrum of opinion within our party. As well as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham who is not currently an MP. Other possible leadership contenders include former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who has been cleared by a tax probe today, and even Aberdeen-born Armed Forces Minister Al Cairns, who only entered the Commons in 2024.

[00:02:11]Instead of firing the starting pistol in a full-blown leadership race, Wes' shooting move today has put his rivals on high alert and started the conversation about what life after Sir Keir Starmer could look like.