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UK’s Keir Starmer faces likely challenge following Labour’s election defeat

Labour MPs. Likely challengers to the leadership include Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham

Streeting says he would join leadership race as Burnham vows to 'save' Labour

Burnham and Streeting. Streeting resigned on Thursday but stopped short of formally launching a challenge to Sir Keir's leadership. Asked on Saturday whether he had the backing of the 81 Labour MPs

Who could challenge Keir Starmer for the UK PM’s job? Meet the candidates

MPs to back her to challenge the prime minister. Following Starmer’s speech on Monday, she criticised it as “too little too late”, but suggested she would no longer stand for the Labour leadership. Even

Wes Streeting quits cabinet and calls on Starmer to resign

Labour leadership. But Streeting, who is on the party’s right, will not immediately launch a challenge and said he wanted to see a leadership contest with a broad range of candidates – a suggestion that

Labour must offer more than ‘better managed decline’ on economy, MPs urge

Labour MPs have said they believe the health secretary, Wes Streeting, could imminently launch a challenge. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is also hoping to find a route to parliament to seek

Burnham allies confident of No 10 ‘coronation’ after surge in backers

Labour party rules mean that potential leadership candidates must secure nominations from at least 20% of the parliamentary party in order to force a contest. The party has 403 MPs, meaning potential challengers would need

Analysis: Everything points to Burnham becoming PM within weeks

Labour "must now redouble our efforts to deliver for working people". She chose not to explicitly endorse Burnham, but is not thought to be preparing a leadership bid herself. Through the course of the Makerfield

Leadership uncertainty 'enormously disruptive', former top civil servant warns

Burnham won Thursday's Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a Labour leadership challenge. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is [now under pressure from cabinet ministers and a growing number of MPs

Starmer considers political future as pressure to quit mounts

leadership race that led to Sir Keir being made Labour leader took six weeks, with some Labour MPs expressing concerns that disagreements that would accompany a similar contest could further damage the party's prospects

Streeting warns against 'expensive' Labour leadership pledges

Labour MPs he would need in order to launch a leadership challenge. He later added that "for the avoidance of doubt" there would be a contest. Speaking to reporters at the G7 summit in France

Wednesday briefing: How much longer can Keir Starmer cling to power?

challenge failed to materialise. However, his authority with Labour MPs remains weak. Each new resignation attempts to undermine his position. For now, Starmer remains in charge by default. For today’s First Edition, I spoke

Wes Streeting prepares to launch leadership challenge against Keir Starmer

Burnham to fight a byelection and enter parliament in time for any leadership contest. With Labour on the brink of civil war, [Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer) was calling ministers and MPs into his office

Is Starmer's leadership under serious threat?

leadership needs to change. For a challenge to get off the ground, 20% of Labour MPs, 81 people, have to back it. West says she currently has 10 supporters and so is a long

Can Starmer survive as PM? Seven scenarios for what might happen next

Labour MPs will forget all about changing leaders and rally behind the man who delivered a landslide general election victory less than two years ago. In this scenario, Sir Keir sees off a leadership contest

UK net migration needs to fall further, says Andy Burnham

challenge Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, should he become an MP. Speaking at his campaign launch on Friday, Burnham said a vote for him is a "vote to change Labour

Angela Rayner says Starmer should ‘reflect on’ stepping aside after HMRC clears her over tax affairs - UK politics live

Labour](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/labour) leadership contest would put economic recovery at risk. She said: > double quotation markLabour MPs have got an important decision to make today, but the numbers show that the economy is growing

Starmer to face split cabinet as demands for his resignation mount

leadership contest requires the endorsement of 81 Labour MPs, 20 percent of the party in the Commons. Potential challengers to Starmer include Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and Greater Manchester

Streeting calls for equal tax on income and capital gains in Labour leadership pitch

Labour must change course or risk handing Reform UK power](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/20/wes-streeting-first-speech-resignation-labour-must-be-bolder-or-lose). He said that while he had the support of 81 MPs, needed to launch a leadership challenge, he had decided

Keir Starmer vows to prove doubters wrong in make-or-break leadership speech

Labour MPs have said they believe the health secretary, Wes Streeting, could imminently launch a leadership challenge. Allies of Streeting have [denied he will move against the prime minister](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/10/starmer-faces-perilous-24-hours-streeting-readying-leadership-bid) – and said

Burnham to back Shabana Mahmood’s immigration changes, allies say

Burnham was confirmed as Labour’s candidate for the [Makerfield byelection](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/makerfield-byelection) earlier this week, and is widely expected to seek to run for the party leadership if he wins the seat, either