Streeting denies plot to oust Starmer amid reports of potential coup

The Health Secretary has denied plotting to oust the Prime Minister amid reports of a potential leadership coup.

The denial from Wes Streeting came as Sir Keir Starmer’s loyalists within Downing Street are said to fear his job could be under threat, according to several news outlets.

But a spokesman for Mr Streeting insisted he was entirely focused on his job as Health Secretary.

The unexpected briefing war which emerged on Tuesday night appeared to be an attempt to shore up Sir Keir’s position by No 10 insiders.

Reporting over the last week has suggested a growing number of Labour MPs are unhappy with the Prime Minister’s performance, and the party’s poll ratings.

The Prime Minister’s senior political aides are said to have warned attempts to oust him will lead to market chaos, and would upend international relations and the Labour Party.

At the heart of their worries is a possible leadership coup by Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary.

But a spokesman for Mr Streeting said the claims “are categorically untrue”.

He added: “Wes’s focus has entirely been on cutting waiting lists for the first time in 15 years, recruiting 2,500 more GPs, and rebuilding the NHS that saved his life.”

A No 10 insider insisted the reports were all hypothetical speculation.

Irresponsible

The Prime Minister would fight any challenge to his leadership, they said, but added launching one would be irresponsible, and insisted Sir Keir was focused on governing.

The senior Downing Street figure, meanwhile, referred to Mr Streeting as a brilliant health secretary, and insisted No 10 remained focused on delivering the Government’s mandate from the general election last year.

However, Sir Keir Starmer’s biographer questioned the logic of those who had been briefing from within the corridors of power.

Tom Baldwin, a former journalist known to be close to the Prime Minister, wrote on social media: “I’m at a loss to understand why anyone would think this sort of briefing will help Keir Starmer, the Government, or even their own cause.

“Some people just can’t resist, I guess, but it’s all a bit nuts.”

Briefing

The cloak-and-dagger briefing emerged ahead of a day when both the Prime Minister and Mr Streeting will be in the public eye.

Sir Keir will face the Commons in his weekly bout with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions.

The Health Secretary is meanwhile touring the broadcast studios on Wednesday morning and will then speak at the NHS Providers conference.

The unexpected flurry from No 10 came as part of a ploy to put down several senior Labour figures who are said to be “on manoeuvres” to oust Sir Keir, according to reporting by the Guardian, the Times and the BBC, among others.

They suggested Mr Streeting had gathered the support of some 50 Labour frontbenchers who were willing to stand down if the Budget on November 26 lands badly.

No 10 has singled out the Health Secretary to warn off other potential leadership challenges from senior Labour figures, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, the reports said.

But critics lambasted Downing Street’s approach, with one telling several news outlets No 10 had gone into “full bunker mode, turning on their most loyal Cabinet members for absolutely no reason”.

“A circular firing squad won’t help the Government out of the hole we’re in,” they added.

The Budget is reportedly proving unpopular with some Labour backbenchers, who are anxious about the prospect that tax rises which break the party’s manifesto commitments could be introduced.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has all but paved the way for the possibility of a rise in income tax when she delivers the statement.

Ms Reeves and Sir Keir have also signalled they could scrap the two-child benefit cap in a bid to tackle child poverty and introduce a measure which would prove popular with their backbenchers.