"Keir Starmer said to the cabinet today, at the start of what was - let's remember - just its standard weekly scheduled meeting. The prime minister's message was spoken to a full meeting of 28 cabinet ministers. But it was directed at one person present: Wes Streeting, the health secretary. Streeting has been clear with the prime minister for months that he is ready for a leadership contest should one take place. But he has also been adamant that he would not be the person to trigger one. As of first thing this morning, that remained his plan."
"The Conservative system for displacing a leader, with which we all became so familiar in recent years, operates on the basis of whether MPs do or do not retain confidence in their boss. The Labour system is different. For Sir Keir to be dislodged, 81 MPs would have to back a specific opponent to face off against him. There are clearly well north of 81 Labour MPs who want the prime minister out. But the prime minister is cannily exploiting the divisions among them. Some want a slower leadership contest because they support Andy Burnham who is not currently an MP. Others want the prime minister out now because they back Streeting."
"So, will Streeting go for it? He did not rise to the prime minister's bait at the cabinet meeting. I'm told he took part in the scheduled discussion about the impact of conflict in the Middle East on the British economy. Indeed, it sounds like there barely was a discussion about the leadership. The prime minister delivered his opening statement and then the conversation moved on very quickly to its planned discussion subject. There are claims from multiple sources that a group of ministers tried to see Sir Keir afterwards to discuss his leadership but that he refused to see them."
Keir Starmer told the cabinet that anyone who thinks they are hard enough should come forward, directing the message at health secretary Wes Streeting. Streeting had said for months that he would be ready for a leadership contest if one occurred, but he would not trigger it. Starmer then used Labour Party rules to make removal harder: 81 MPs would need to back a specific opponent to face him. Many Labour MPs want Starmer out, but their preferences are split between a slower contest supporting Andy Burnham and an immediate contest backing Streeting. Streeting did not respond during the cabinet meeting and instead participated in the scheduled discussion on the Middle East’s impact on the British economy. Claims also circulated that ministers sought to speak with Starmer afterward, but he refused.
Read at www.bbc.com
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