At a glance: Starmer fights to stay on as prime minister

14 May 2026, 20:19

PA Media

Sir Keir Starmer is fighting to stay on as prime minister, as he stares down calls from Labour critics for him to leave Downing Street.

On Thursday, Wes Streeting resigned from the cabinet, leaving his post as health secretary - although he stopped short of launching a leadership bid.

Earlier in the week, four members of the government, including health minister and Streeting ally Zubir Ahmed, resigned, while scores of Labour MPs are calling for Sir Keir to quit following a disastrous set of elections for the party last week.

Here is a summary of what is happening.

What's the latest?

Wes Streeting quits as health secretary, saying he has "lost confidence" in Sir Keir's leadership and that it is "now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election"
Streeting's camp insist he has the support of the 81 Labour MPs that are necessary to trigger a leadership contest, although in his resignation letter he calls for a "debate about what comes next"
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson responds by saying Sir Keir has "cabinet behind him" and she advises colleagues to "pause, take a breath as a party and try and draw a line under all of this"
Streeting is replaced as health secretary by James Murray, who had been chief secretary to the Treasury
Labour MP Josh Simons is standing down and triggering a by-election to allow Andy Burnham to try to enter Parliament, saying the Greater Manchester mayor will "drive the change our country is crying out for"
Burnham confirmed he was requesting the permission of the NEC, Labour's ruling body, to stand in the Makerfield by-election
Downing Street has indicated it will not seek to block Burnham becoming Labour's candidate in Makerfield
Chancellor Rachel Reeves echoes Sir Keir's warning that any Labour leadership contest would "plunge the country into chaos"
Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner says she has been cleared by HMRC of wrongdoing over her tax affairs
On Wednesday the King outlined the government's proposals for legislation in the coming months, in the King's Speech
The speech contained the outlines of 37 bills including proposals to introduce digital ID, nationalise British Steel and make changes to the NHS and police
At the start of the week, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was among a group of cabinet ministers urging Sir Keir to set out a timetable for his departure
No MP has yet launched a formal bid to challenge Sir Keir

What's the mood in the party?

Nearly 90 Labour MPs have publicly urged Sir Keir to resign immediately or draw up an exit timetable
Four junior ministers - Jess Phillips, Zubir Ahmed, Alex Davies-Jones and Miatta Fahnbulleh - have resigned from the government
Six ministerial aides quit on Monday and have since been replaced
More than 150 MPs have come out in support of the PM or said it is not the right time for a leadership contest
Along with Streeting, former deputy PM Rayner is seen as a likely challenger to Sir Keir among Labour MPs
Burnham also has support - but would need to become an MP to stand for leader, requiring a more drawn-out contest

How did we get here?

The revolt among MPs follows a disastrous set of elections for Labour last week, where it lost almost 1,500 councillors in local elections across England
It was also kicked out of power in Wales and slumped to its worst ever result at a Scottish Parliament election
The elections had been billed as a key test for Sir Keir's leadership amid dire poll ratings and the row over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, which has led some MPs to question his judgement