Overview
- Multiple reports say several cabinet ministers pressed Keir Starmer to remove Health Secretary Wes Streeting for alleged disloyalty and breaches of collective responsibility.
- A cabinet minister cited Kemi Badenoch’s pre-emptive sacking of Robert Jenrick as a model, arguing Streeting is undermining No 10 and should be brought to heel.
- Wes Streeting’s spokesman condemned the briefings as “incredibly stupid,” highlighting NHS waiting list reductions and faster ambulance response times, while a No 10 source said he is doing a great job.
- At a political cabinet meeting earlier in the week, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander urged colleagues to form a “praetorian guard” around Starmer, and attendees described the Prime Minister’s closing remarks as unexpectedly emotional.
- Deputy leader Lucy Powell warned that trying to change leaders now would be “madness,” as policy reversals and weak polls fuel talk of factions and a testing May local election cycle.