UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting has resigned from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet, Sky News reports on a move that in British politics means Streeting is very likely to mount some kind of internal challenge for the premiership as the Labour party faces an electoral cataclysm.
“As you know from our conversation earlier this week, having lost confidence in your leadership, I have concluded that it would be dishonourable and unprincipled to do so,” Streeting wrote in his resignation letter. “It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism. It needs to be broad, and it needs to be the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope you will continue to facilitate it.”
The closest analogue in American politics would be the House Speakership though, say, Steve Scalise wouldn’t resign his post as Majority Leader to challenge Mike Johnson. He would just gather enough support for a motion to vacate and then make a run for the gavel. Without going further down the rabbit hole of differences, Labour is right and truly fucked and it’s worth asking what the hell new leadership is going to do. It’s not like it saved the Tories after Boris Johnson quit.