UK health secretary resigns and calls on PM Starmer to follow

Wes Streeting has resigned from his position as UK Health Secretary and called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down, supporting internal party elections for a new Labour Party leader, according to The Guardian.

Streeting, who represents the party’s right wing and was seen as a potential leadership contender, did not announce his own candidacy in a letter to Starmer. However, he demanded the launch of a broad leadership contest involving multiple candidates, including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

He criticised Starmer’s determination to remain in office, stating “your heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics.”

According to Streeting, results from local elections show that the current leadership will not be able to lead the Labour Party into the next general election.

He also said he told Starmer in a meeting on Tuesday, May 12, that he had lost confidence in him. Allies of Streeting within the government, as well as several MPs, have resigned or called for the prime minister to step down.

In his letter, Streeting linked the decline in party support to political decisions and a lack of clear strategy, stating: “Where we need vision, we have a vacuum.”

The political crisis is unfolding amid declining Labour Party approval ratings two years after coming to power.

By Jeyhun Aghazada