UK health minister resigns in new blow to premier Starmer

LONDON: Wes Streeting announced on Thursday that he has resigned as Britain's health minister, paving the way for a potential leadership challenge against embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In his resignation letter to the prime minister, which Streeting posted on X, he said he had 'lost confidence' in Starmer's leadership and 'it is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election'.
Disastrous results for the governing Labour Party in last week's local elections have plunged Britain into its latest crisis, just under two years after Starmer won a large majority on a vow to bring stability and end a decade of political chaos.
After days of calls by a growing number of Labour lawmakers for Starmer to either resign or set out a timetable for his departure, Streeting was the first senior minister to break cover, saying he was standing down because 'it is now clear you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election'.
'It is now clear ... that Labour MPs (members of parliament) and Labour (trade) unions want the debate about what ⁠comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism,' he wrote in his resignation letter.
'It needs to be broad, and it needs the best ⁠possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this.'
His announcement fell short of triggering a formal leadership contest against Starmer but piles the pressure on the British leader who has so far weathered a drip feed of demands for him to step down.
Sources close to Starmer, who has repeatedly said he would battle to keep his job, say he is determined to fight any leadership contest, ‌which could see him challenged by Streeting and also senior ministers on the left of the ​party.
Earlier on Thursday, Starmer's former deputy, Angela Rayner, announced ⁠she had been cleared of deliberate wrongdoing over her tax affairs, an impediment to any leadership contest, but she would not say whether she wanted ​to launch a formal bid.
Other potential candidates from the ‌so-called 'soft left' of the party - who favour more state involvement in key industries and are pro-workers' rights, with several having close ties to trade unions - include Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Ed Miliband, the minister for energy security and net-zero. - AFP