British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to distance himself from a private press briefing by an unnamed “ally” saying he intends to fend off a leadership contest that is said to be possible in just 18 months.
On Tuesday evening, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources, that Health Secretary Wes Streeting was widely favored to succeed Mr Starmer.
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But on Wednesday morning, Mr Streeting denied this, telling reporters: “I am not challenging the Prime Minister.”
“I didn’t do anything like what some stupid reporter said overnight,” he said.
Asked whether the person in charge of the news conference should be fired, Streeting said: “Yes, but he should be fired.” [Starmer] He had to find them first and he didn’t expect him to waste so much time on this. ”
“There are people around the prime minister who don’t follow his leadership model and style,” he said.
In response to the ensuing media storm, Mr Starmer, whose premiership since last year has been marred by poor opinion polls, told reporters in north Wales on Thursday that the press conference with ministers was “totally unacceptable”.
“I have been speaking to my team today and I have made it clear that while I am certain there has been no briefing of ministers by Number 10, I believe that is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
The current intra-party conflict shines a light on the prime minister’s position as leader of the Labor Party.
In its latest poll on Tuesday, pollster YouGov said just 27% of 4,989 people surveyed thought he should continue as Labor leader.
Here’s what we know about the leadership conspiracy rumors.
What are the rumors about the Leadership Challenge?
On Tuesday night, unnamed senior Starmer aides told the Guardian that any attempt to remove the prime minister would be “reckless” and “dangerous”. Aides say removing Starmer early in his term would have a negative impact on financial markets, with implications for the stock market, the party and international relations.
“The party will not recover for a generation,” one anonymous source told the Guardian.
A No. 10 source also told the Guardian he was concerned about rumors that Mr Streeting may be planning a “coup” and is just one of several Labor ministers “lining up” to take the leadership role if the opportunity arises. However, no one is likely to make a move against the prime minister at this point.
They said leadership would most likely be challenged after the autumn budget, due to be tabled in Parliament on November 26, if tax increases were announced, or after next May’s election if Labor performed poorly.
“Keir is not going to step aside at this point for Wes or anyone else,” a source told the Guardian.
On Friday, Britain’s Financial Times newspaper quoted an unnamed minister as claiming that support for the health secretary had increased following news of the unauthorized “meeting”.
Street was not the only person mentioned as a potential leader. Sources said Shabana Mahmoud, the home secretary and energy secretary, and former Labor leader Ed Miliband were mentioned as potential candidates.
Nicholas Allen, a political science professor at London’s Royal Holloway University, said the press conference revealed “real concerns, at least in some quarters, that Mr Starmer is vulnerable”.
Could a coup against Starmer be successful?
Mr Allen said a new leadership election would be difficult to achieve because Labor rules require a candidate to have the support of 20% of nominated members. This will be difficult to do with a party whip that enforces party consensus.
“I don’t know how strong Streeting’s support is,” Allen said. “It will probably not be possible to oust Mr Starmer on his own. The more likely outcome is that support within the party will collapse due to low poll ratings and unforced errors (such as press conferences), and he will decide to resign, or be encouraged by senior ministers to resign. At that point, the path will be open. Street action may or may not be seen as a savior,” he said.
Who briefed the press?
British media have speculated that the private meeting may have been planned by Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, as a tactic to dissuade ministers considering challenging Starmer.
Mr McSweeney, who is widely credited with helping Mr Starmer win the July 2024 election, is now facing calls for his resignation from unnamed MPs, according to reports.
But Mr Starmer did not appear to support such a move on Thursday, reiterating that he had “of course” full confidence in his chief of staff.
What are the opposition parties saying?
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was quick to react, accusing Mr Starmer of losing control of the party during Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday.
Mr Badenoch called Mr Starmer “a weak prime minister who is at war with his own cabinet”.
“Two weeks before the Budget, this prime minister has lost control of his government, he has lost control of his party and I think he has lost the trust of the British people,” she said.
Earlier in the debate, Mr Badenoch referred to Mr Streeting’s interview with the BBC in which he accused Downing Street of a “toxic culture” and asked Mr Starmer if the minister was right.
In response, Mr Starmer said: “Any attacks on ministers are completely unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, Zia Yusuf, policy director for the far-right Reform Britain party, wrote in X on Thursday: “The scary thing about the coup against Starmer is that Labor MPs will choose his replacement.”
“Their favorite Labor minister is Ed Miliband. Some of the freest people in this country will choose the next prime minister,” he added.
Since last year’s election, the popularity of reformers has increased significantly in Britain.
How does the fall budget fit into this?
The meeting came just two weeks before Mr Starmer and his Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves are due to unveil their autumn budget on November 26.
The budget, which outlines the government’s tax and spending plans for next year, has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks as it was widely expected to break one of Labour’s key election promises – no increase in income tax.
However, the Financial Times reported on Friday morning that Mr. Reeves is now ruling out raising income taxes over concerns that it could seriously anger voters and MPs.
Why else is Starmer losing popularity in Britain?
Since winning the 2024 election, the prime minister has faced backlash from across the political spectrum, including Labor voters, on several issues.
According to a September YouGov poll, if an election were held now, the far-right Reform Britain would win, with Labor the second party and the former ruling Conservative Party the third party.
Mr Allen said the press conference revealed “a desire on the part of some people to engage in tribal quarrels with senior ministers”, which could further damage the public perception of Labor, adding that Mr Starmer was “not very good at politics, either in terms of surrounding himself with people he trusts (if he doesn’t know) or in terms of his political judgment (if he allows it)”.
“This just confirms what most voters probably already thought, which is that the current Labor government and its prime minister are not much better, or at least not significantly better than the Conservative government they voted out 18 months ago,” Allen said.
Here are some of the key areas of domestic policy that are contributing to Starmer’s Labor Party’s declining popularity.
transfer
The opposition Reform UK Party saw its approval ratings rise, mainly due to calls for stricter immigration regulations. A key issue is that the number of people arriving by small boat from France across the English Channel has risen sharply, particularly in the past year.
In September, Mr Starmer signed a “one-in-one-out” migrant exchange deal with France aimed at stopping people from trying to cross the English Channel. Under the agreement, France will accept the return of asylum seekers who have traveled to the UK but cannot prove family ties to the UK.
For every migrant France returns, the UK will grant asylum to one person who arrived from France through official channels and can prove they have family links to the UK.
But so far only a handful of immigrants have been deported under this system. Additionally, the Home Office reported on Monday that a second migrant had re-entered the UK after being deported to France.
Rise of the far right
Mr Starmer has come under fire for his lukewarm response to the growing number of far-right protests across the country.
In September, at least 11,000 people took part in the “Unite the Kingdom” march in London carrying the St George’s flag.
Mr Starmer condemned violence against police officers during protests and insisted Britain was “built on diversity”, but anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate and several MPs are calling on the government to take stronger action against the rise of far-right groups.
Critics also say Mr Starmer has not done enough to appeal to reform supporters or address concerns about immigration.
accidental release from prison
London’s HMP Wandsworth prison was in a fiasco when it mistakenly released two criminals, including an Algerian sex offender, in early November.
Both men were eventually returned to prison, but in the case of the Algerian criminal only after the man turned himself in. Robert Jenrick, the Conservative shadow solicitor general, said the mistake revealed “the incompetence of this government”.
economy
Mr Starmer has been grappling with a low-growth economy since coming to power.
New figures for the July to September period released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday show Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by just 0.1%, compared with a 0.3% rise in the April to July period.
Meanwhile, inflation remained at 3.8% in September 2025, unchanged from July and August. This is the highest level since early 2024.
