Sir Keir Starmer will hold showdown talks with Health Secretary Wes Streeting today as pressure mounts on the Prime Minister following an open revolt within Labour ranks.
Streeting will meet Starmer in Downing Street just hours before the King’s Speech, with reports suggesting he plans to confront the Prime Minister over the “turbulence” engulfing the party and ask “how he intends to get us out of this mess”.
The talks come after almost 100 Labour MPs, including four ministers, publicly called for Starmer to step aside, triggering growing speculation over a potential leadership contest.
Allies of Streeting said the Health Secretary is weighing up whether to launch a challenge himself, with one source claiming he would be prepared to resign if Starmer’s premiership reached “the point of no return”.
Despite the mounting pressure, Starmer struck a defiant tone at Cabinet on Tuesday, insisting: “The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered … the country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing.”
He also accused critics of “destabilising” the government and inflicting “a real economic cost for our country and for families”.
The political turmoil has already rattled financial markets, with UK government borrowing costs climbing amid fears of prolonged instability in Westminster.
Labour divisions have also cast a shadow over today’s King’s Speech, where ministers are expected to unveil plans for 35 new laws covering immigration, green energy and education reform.
Meanwhile, reports emerged that Buckingham Palace held discussions with Downing Street to ensure the King remained politically neutral despite the deepening crisis at the heart of government.