14 May 2026

Angela Rayner is cleared as Westminster waits on Streeting

Good economic news for Rachel Reeves has been overshadowed by leadership manoeuvres

Rachel Reeves has welcomed an unexpected 0.3 per cent uptick in GDP as the first quarterly estimate dropped this morning (economists were expecting the economy to shrink). In the same breath she warned that a Labour leadership election would “put that at risk by plunging the country into chaos”.

Today Westminster waits to see if Wes Streeting will launch a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer by resigning from his cabinet post as Health Secretary and attempting to gather the names of 81 MPs to get him on a ballot, which would then go to Labour party members. (Remember that, due to a Jeremy Corbyn-era internal party ruling, the incumbent party leader will automatically be on the ballot without being forced through the indignity of seeking nominations.)

Part of the case for launching a challenge now, among Streeting’s backers, is that the timing would catch the obvious soft-left candidates who could stand against him off balance: Angela Rayner still tied down by her tax affairs, Andy Burnham still out of parliament.

That changed this morning when Rayner revealed that HMRC has concluded its investigation into her tax affairs and cleared her of any deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness. This investigation has hung over Rayner since her resignation from cabinet in September. Now, her supporters say, she could run against Streeting and win if he tried to trigger a contest.

This development also gives Rayner a pretty clear path for returning to cabinet. If Streeting does resign today there would be a vacancy at the top table, and Starmer would be forced to carry out a minor reshuffle anyway. I can’t help but note that it was Streeting who first called for Rayner to be brought back into government after her resignation, in a speech at the last annual conference – now his drastic action may facilitate her imminent return.

This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here

[Further reading: Labour won’t take on the powerful]