14 May 2026

Does Wes Streeting have the numbers?

He seems to be struggling to get the support he needs to challenge the PM

With no firm denials from Wes Streeting’s team yesterday, Westminster expects the Health Secretary to launch a leadership challenge today. He needs to present the names of 81 MPs who support him in order to make it onto a ballot of party members.

But can he? Streeting’s politics, broadly of the “progressive” or “new” right of Labour, is well represented in the Parliamentary Labour Party and it might have been assumed that in the event of a contest he would easily get over the line.

However the chaotic circumstances of the last few days have raised serious questions about his base of support in the PLP. Even MPs who would have been considered Streeting’s natural supporters are in some cases reluctant to push ahead with a contest now, essentially getting cold feet about a damaging internecine leadership struggle despite having deep concerns about Keir Starmer’s leadership.

While 91 MPs have, at the time of writing, called for Starmer to go, only about two dozen of those are likely Streeting backers. The Health Secretary would have to produce many more public endorsements for his candidature in the wake of a possible resignation and challenge.

The open letter of support for Starmer’s continuing leadership, arranged and signed by over 100 loyal backbenchers, was a further worrying signal for Streeting because some of his most natural supporters in the PLP put their names to it.

Asked if they would support a Streeting challenge, one such MP told me: “I won’t be backing chaos. There are other routes to tackle the challenges we face as a party and to ensure we get our message across.” Another moderate MP claimed that Streeting’s outriders had been “begging” for their support, with no luck.

Streeting’s opponents in government want to undermine his ambitions by insisting that his challenge would fail, while his supporters claim he has enough support. The proof can only come if he initiates a challenge. If he failed to gather the numbers necessary, the prime beneficiary might be the Prime Minister.