Wes Streeting has resigned from cabinet.

[Viviennemary]

Well it's started.

This!! There has been too much changing with people expecting immediate results. It needs to stop being a personal power play, not for our benefit, and give Starmer time.

We're like France. They keep changing prime ministers too. It's a sign of distress, as is the lurch to the right. Can't see anyone fit to lead out of all of them. Starmer hasn't surrounded himself with quality individuals, probably because they'd make him look even worse than he looks now.

I quite liked him and thought maybe he had the balls to actually reform the NHS for the better but nope, he's the same as all the rest, sod the country and any turmoil it might cause, his career ambitions come first. Tosser.

Sir Starmer has been PM for about 2 years.
He's been leader of Labour since 2020.

On radio 4 this morning they said he is automatically on the list

Torston Bell may be the next health minister?
Starmer will try to keep calm & carry on. The question is does Wes have the numbers?

They say the assassin never wears the crown.

Very disappointed in his timing. It shows how he is being driven by personal ambition and is part of the dark political arts of plotting over running the country.

His JOB is to run the NHS right now. He is becoming experienced at it. Do some actual good as part of your role in government.

Labour aren’t going to win a majority at the next election unless they take measures to combat the rise of reform. The back benchers have shown they won’t let them do that. Whoever is in charge right now (unless it is someone as dire as AR) it will be more of the same.

I actually think the press have got something to answer to in this mess too TBH. Ever since last Thursday (or even before that actually) they've been going on and on about a leadership contest - the build up to this has been so unnecessary and has already thrown the financial markets into a downward spiral - before anything even actually happened!

The absolute last thing this country needs right now is a leadership contest that will divert every politicians focus away from the actual job they are being paid to do. They should ALL be ashamed of themselves.

Indeed.

Hopefully, look what happened to Heseltine!

Times Radio have just said that Streeting thinks Andy Burnham should be in the contest. This is going to go on for months.

He was finished as soon as Kemi gave him THE look.

Not if he resigns as an MP this afternoon and triggers a by election.

What a dick that man is , leaving post at health during the biggest transition in recent memory and the personality of a kipper to boot - he is not a leader

That would be one heck of a twist!

Forcing Streeting to resign was the smart move here. It makes him look like a backstabbing opportunist who is getting in the way of a functioning government, whereas sacking him would make Starmer look like a villain who puts job security before the country's needs.

If he wants a leadership change that badly then he’ll take one for the team and go from hero to zero back to hero again (depending on your politics).

Pretty much exactly what I was going to say! Bunch of over-ambitious, under-performing greedy twats.

I really hope this is what is happening here. Nobody needs this crap and I think very very little of Streeting for doing this - whatever it is he is doing. What an utter knob. If you really wanted something different from Starmer - why would any one ever pick him?

Thank fuck he’s away from health - he has put us back by 2 decades

I only hope he fails in whatever leadership bid he has planned

This. I don't know what on earth Streeting thinks he has to offer that Starmer doesn't.

I'm so disappointed in the MPs who have gone along with this. Starmer may not be popular, but the press will pick Streeting apart the second he gets in (if he wins, of course). No Labour leader is going to be popular - just get on with it.

According to the BBC, Streeting allies say he has the 81 MPs he needs, but also they want Starmer to resign, and don’t want MPs to actually trigger the leadership contest.
Jesus, everyone knows what you’re doing, if you’re going to do it just do it. There’s no way to play it off as “well I didn’t want to run for leader but since the PM has resigned I guess I will” now.

I thought they were the grown ups, posters kept saying that anyway

The first big beast to resign was always going to be a backstabbing opportunist. Unlike the other backstabbing opportunists who will ride on this. They are all the same - politicians cannot see anything through without revolting. The tail wags the dog and Reform is still going to get Labour votes.

It makes no difference in terms of Starmer’s old job: he’s a politician now and personality matters. It should not (look at Boris) but then everyone was against Sunak and now Starmer. There’s never going to be a solution when voters are so shallow and fickle. No one will make us richer! It’s not possible right now. Everyone promises “change” (whatever that means) but cannot deliver. There’s a reason for that and swapping the deck chairs on the Titanic won’t help. You’ll have even less money if Ang or Burnham get their hands on it!