Thursday’s key developments
- A sitting Labour MP has resigned from his seat, paving the way for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to potentially return to Westminster and mount a challenge to prime minister Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership
- Earlier, Wes Streeting, another likely contender for challenging Starmer, resigned as UK health secretary, saying he has “lost confidence” in the prime minister as leader of their party
- A challenger for the party leadership needs a minimum of 81 MPs – roughly one fifth of Labour’s parliamentary party – to pledge their formal backing to trigger a leadership contest under party rules
- Former deputy leader Angela Rayner has suggested she could enter any leadership contest. She has been cleared by tax authorities of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs
- Starmer’s position as prime minister has become increasingly tenuous since Labour’s hammering in elections across Britain last week
Key Reads
- Profile: Is Wes Streeting a reformer or performer?
- Kathy Sheridan: Nigel Farage’s success is the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party meme come to life
- Finn McRedmond: Starmer is bland, stable, boring – he should have gone a long way
That concludes today’s live coverage.
London Correspondent Mark Paul provides a full recap of Thursday’s developments.
[ Andy Burnham makes his move as Keir Starmer’s troubles mountOpens in new window ]
Streeting’s replacement as health secretary announced
The replacement for Wes Streeting as health secretary in Starmer’s cabinet has just been announced by Downing Street.
Labour’s MP for Ealing North James Murray has been appointed to the role.
He previously worked as the chief secretary to the British treasury and as a former deputy London mayor for housing under Sadiq Khan following the city’s 2016 mayoral election.
Burnham’s risky return bid could decide Labour’s future
London Correspondent Mark Paul writes:
It would be difficult to conceive of a higher stakes gamble by Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester – the ultimate winner-takes-all move. It is also a huge moment for UK prime minister Keir Starmer as he battles to save his faltering premiership.
Burnham’s plan to return to parliament in Westminster via an extremely risky byelection in the seat of Makerfield near Wigan has shot a bolt of lightning through a looming Labour leadership contest.
If Burnham wins, he may win all. If he loses, his career is effectively over.
As a sitting mayor, Burnham must still get the approval of Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) to run in a byelection in the constituency, whose sitting MP Josh Simons stepped down on Thursday to clear the way. But even that question alone is a test of Starmer’s dwindling strength.
The NEC is meant to be stacked with the prime minister’s allies and it previously blocked Burnham from running in February’s byelection in Gorton & Denton, which had the effect of preventing him from returning to Westminster to challenge Starmer.
As an increasing number of Labour MPs clamour for Burnham’s return to rescue Labour from the depths plumbed under Starmer, pressure will be ramped up on the NEC to let Burnham run this time. If it does, it shows Starmer’s grip on his party’s ruling body has weakened.
If the NEC doesn’t let Burnham run, then Labour will surely enter a civil war that may sweep aside the prime minister anyway.
Read his analysis in full.
Burnham, Streeting and Rayner ‘key players’ in Labour, Powell to say
Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell is expected to say Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be “key players” in Labour’s team in a speech tomorrow.
Powell will repeat her support for the mayor of Greater Manchester’s bid to return to parliament as Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield byelection when she speaks at the Fire Brigades’ Union conference.
She is expected to say: “The election results last week were deeply painful and difficult for our party, and the aftermath has been unedifying for us all too. We don’t do hostile takeovers in Labour for a reason. Keir is the leader, and I warned against bloody internal battles reflecting badly.
“If we think we don’t have further to fall, that’s a mistake, we can. We must come back together as one team to take the fight to Farage and show that mainstream progressive politics can bring about the change people are crying out for.
“That also means doing politics differently. Ending briefing wars, ending factionalism, and representing all our traditions with our strongest team on the pitch – being one Labour team.
“Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be key players in our team.
“Andy wants to come back to parliament – I’ve always supported his desire to do so, and I support that again. As deputy leader, I am confident he would have the support of the vast majority of the party and movement in doing so.” – PA
Polanski: Burnham must be clear ‘which version of him is going to show up’
Andy Burnham needs to make clear if he will be break away from “terrible orthodoxies” of the past or be “more of the same”, UK Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said.
Responding to the announcement that the Greater Manchester mayor plans to stand in a byelection in a bid to return to the British parliament and challenge Starmer, the Green leader said: “Last week’s elections shows the country is crying out for a break from the failed status quo.
“Keir Starmer has been unable and unwilling to break with an economic model that has fuelled the affordability crisis, and this is why we have said he must go.
“Whatever happens in the coming byelection, Andy Burnham will need to make clear which version of him is going to show up.
“Is it the politician who has been part and parcel of the Labour establishment for decades, abstaining on legislation making brutal cuts to welfare, PFI and other Labour privatisations, or is it the one who has publicly supported proportional representation, been a popular mayor in Manchester and expressed support to make changes to the failed economic model?
“The country needs to know if Andy Burnham is serious about breaking out from the terrible orthodoxies from the past, or if he will just be more of the same.” – PA
Analysis of the English local election results from May 7th this year show that of the 10 wards contested on Wigan council that fall within the parliamentary constituency of Makerfield, either wholly or partially, Reform candidates won every single one of them. – PA
If you’re curious to know more about Burnham, you can read London Correspondent Mark Paul’s 2024 interview with him.
The upcoming Labour leadership battle will not be the first time Burnham has sought to take the party’s helm.
He last campaigned for the position back in 2015 while he was shadow health secretary for Labour who were in opposition to the Conservatives under former prime minister David Cameron.
In the end, he came in second on 80,452 votes, well behind winner Jeremy Corbyn’s 251,417.
Reform UK leader and MP Nigel Farage has his party will “throw absolutely everything” at the Makerfield byelection.
Reform’s last candidate in the constituency, Robert Kenyon, took 31.8 per cent of the 2024 vote, coming in second behind the now resigned Josh Simons.
Kenyon was elected as a councillor for the Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North electoral ward at the local elections in England earlier this month.
Burnham confirms he will seek to run in Makerfield byelection
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed he will seek the permission of the UK Labour Party’s national executive committee (NEC) to stand in the Makerfield byelection.
In a lengthy post on X Burnham said: “I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.”
“There is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester,” he added, clearly signalling his ambition to return to national politics.
“Much bigger change is needed at a national level ... We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.”
He previously served as an MP for the constituency of Leigh from 2001 to 2017.
Simons’s constituency is Makerfield, an area covering a large swathe of land to the south of Wigan with a population of roughly 105,000 people. The area forms part of Greater Manchester.
Simons secured his seat there in the 2024 UK general election with slightly more than 45 per cent of the vote. Reform UK’s candidate polled second of the six candidates that contested for the seat.
Reform is likely to put forward a candidate once again in the now upcoming byelection.
Labour MP resigns seat for Burnham
Labour MP Josh Simons has resigned his seat. This paves the way for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to context a byelection which could allow him to return to Westminster as an MP and contend an ensuing Labour leadership contest.
“Today, I am putting the people I represent and the country I love first and will be resigning as MP for Makerfield. I am standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for,” he said on X.
Starmer’s response and acceptance of Streeting’s resignation came in a letter issued from Downing Street.
Starmer said he is “truly sorry” Streeting will no longer be part of his cabinet or continuing his work with the UK’s national health service.
“I have no doubt you will continue to play an important role in our party for many years to come,” he added.
“I hope we can work together to show that Labour in power can address the problems our opponents exploit, can install hope where they want despair, and can bring people together where they want division.”
Starmer responds to Streeting resignation
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has said he is “very sorry” Streeting has stepped down from his role.
He thanked the now former health secretary for his work in the role and in getting Labour back into government at the last UK general election.
Starmer also said the recent local election results “were extremely tough” and that everyone in the Labour Party is “acutely aware that our opponents are more dangerous than ever before”.
The latter statement is likely in response to Streeting highlighting the “existential threat” posed by Farage’s Reform UK party in his resignation letter earlier today.
Burnham poised to make ‘significant’ announcement
London Correspondent Mark Paul writes:
An ally of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has told The Irish Times that Burnham will make a “significant” announcement at about 5pm.
Speculation is mounting in London that he may reveal the seat he plans to contest in a bid to return to Westminster.
It is worth bearing in mind that Streeting needs a minimum of 81 sitting Labour MPs to back his bid to lead the party.
This figure is roughly one-fifth of the number of seats Labour holds in parliament.
It still remains unclear whether or not he has secured that number on his own.
Once a challenger secures the backing of enough MPs, party members then vote on contenders in order of preference.
Whichever contender secures more than 50 per cent of the first preference votes is then declared the winner.
Thursday: The day so far
Scottish Labour does not rule out allowing Burnham to run for seat
Scottish Labour has not ruled out letting Andy Burnham run to become an MP in Scotland in order to oust Starmer as prime minister.
Asked whether the Greater Manchester mayor could run in a byelection north of the border, Dame Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader and a member of the NEC, said: “You’ll just need to wait until after the NEC meeting on Tuesday.”
It comes after Streeting – seen as a rival to Starmer – quit as health secretary earlier on Thursday, saying a leadership battle should take place.
Reports suggest former Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner could also run for the party leadership.
Burnham is seen as a contender but would need to become an MP first.
The election of two SNP MPs to the Scottish parliament means there will soon be two Westminster byelections in the seats they have vacated.
Stephen Flynn’s departure leaves the Aberdeen South seat up for grabs, while Stephen Gethins’s Arbroath and Broughty Ferry constituency will also need a new MP.
However, reports suggest Burnham would rather run for a seat in Greater Manchester.
Speaking to reporters at Holyrood, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said “it was still to be seen” whether a leadership contest would be sparked by a challenge to the prime minister. – PA
A prominent Labour MP Alan Gemmell, who is a supporter of Wes Streeting, said the former health secretary had taken a “principled decision today not to trigger a contest”.
“It’s clear in conversations with MPs and with the unions that the party wants a discussion, a battle of ideas, an open contest, a broad contest for the direction that we should take and how we fix the problems that we’re in,” the MP for Central Ayrshire told the BBC.
“I hope that we will see over the next few days a range of people setting out their stall for why we need a more ambitious agenda for our government.
“I’m sure that we will see Wes making the argument for why he would be a great leader of our country.”
Pushed over whether Streeting would throw his hat in the ring, Gemmell says: “I can’t tell you what Wes will do tomorrow.” He adds: “We have had a principled decision by Wes to resign from the government having lost confidence in the prime minister.”
Financial markets are trying to work out what to make of the upheaval in the Labour Party and the decision so far is that they are nervous but not sure, writes Cliff Taylor.
Earlier in the week UK bonds – or gilts as they are known – were weak, pushing up borrowing costs for the British government. They have recovered a little in the meantime, but investors in UK gilts – and those holding sterling – will carefully watch as the story plays out.
Whoever is in power needs to keep these investors on board as the UK needs to raise significant amounts of money on the markets due to its large budget deficit.
But anyone looking to be prime minister – or Keir Starmer if he wants to hold on to his job, also needs to promise “change” and new policy approaches. Taylor discusses the issue here.
How could Andy Burnham challenge Starmer?
There is talk of Andy Burnham returning to parliament by getting a safe seat somewhere.
This could be achieved in two ways – by way of an unscheduled byelection or if a Labour MP in a safe seat stepped down.
It is easier said than done. The Daily Telegraph has identified four possible seats in the north of England – Warrington North, St Helens South, Manchester Rusholme and Bootle.
Of the four seats, only one, Bootle, would be a certainty if he stands given Labour’s general unpopularity in Britain.
That seat is held by Peter Dowd who had a near 22,000 majority.
He has held the seat since 2015 and is not inclined to step aside for Burnham or anybody else.
Burnham could have won a seat in the recent Gorton and Denton by election, but he was blocked from standing by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Burnham would have to be extraordinarily fortunate to gain a seat for himself in the immediate future.
What are the principal events that led to Streeting’s resignation?
He mentions two in particular – Starmer’s “island of strangers” speech a year ago and cuts to the winter fuel allowance.
Starmer made the reference to an “island of strangers” in a speech in May last year at the unveiling of a white paper on immigration.
“They guide us towards our rights, of course, but also our responsibilities, the obligations we owe to one another.
“Now, in a diverse nation like ours, and I celebrate that, these rules become even more important. Without them, we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”
Two months later he regretted using the phrase and said he was not in the right mind following an alleged arson attack on his family home in London.
“It’s fair to say I wasn’t in the best state to make a big speech. I was really, really worried,” he told The Observer.
In July 2024, shortly after taking office, the Labour government cut the winter fuel allowance, a payment of between £200 and £300 given to all pensioners, irrespective of means. This reduced the number of pensioners helped from 11 million to just 1.3 million.
A year later the Labour government did a U-turn on the original announcement and restored it for most pensioners.
The other major blunder of Starmer’s premiership has been his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the US – given Mandelson’s links with Jeffrey Epstein.
Streeting makes no reference to this scandal in his resignation letter, but many Labour members are angered about what happened.
Since Brexit, the UK has had six prime ministers in 10 years: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and now Keir Starmer.
If Starmer resigns before the 10th anniversary of Brexit on June 23rd, it will be seven prime ministers in a decade.
The seismic events unleashed by Brexit continues to resonate in the UK.
It would appear to be suggesting that Starmer would welcome other challengers to the prime minister – perhaps including Andy Burnham who needs to win a seat in parliament before he can stand.
“For the first time in our country’s history, nationalists are in power in every corner of the United Kingdom – including a dangerous English nationalism represented by Nigel Farage and Reform UK,” he wrote in his resignation letter, which has been posted on X.
“This represents both an existential threat to the future integrity of the United Kingdom, but Reform UK also represents a threat to the value and ideas that have made this country great”.
Wes Streeting has told Keir Starmer that he will not be leading Labour into the next British general election and therefore should step down as party leader.
He told Starmer: “You have great strengths that we I admire ... but were we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift.
“You also need to listen to your colleagues, including backbenchers, and the heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics.
“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 that.”
BREAKING: The BBC has announced that Wes Streeting has resigned as health secretary.
Starmer would beat Streeting easily, says poll
Wes Streeting was supposed to launch a leadership challenge today, but has demurred so far.
As the old saying goes, “if you come for the king, you better not miss”.
Streeting would need to know that he would win a contest if he was to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership.
A poll of the Labour membership shows Streeting being trounced by Starmer in a contest.
Polling conducted by Survation revealed that Streeting would secure just 23 per cent of support among Labour members, compared to 53 per cent for Starmer.
Support for Starmer in such a head-to-head has reached a new high, with Starmer holding a 34-point lead over Streeting, compared with a virtual dead heat in November last year.
This does not mean that Starmer is popular among Labour grassroots. The same survey shows would we lose heavily to the mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham with Burnham getting 61 per cent of the vote against 28 per cent for Starmer. He would also lose to Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband.
Fortunately for Starmer, Burnham cannot stand because he is not an MP and there is no guarantee he will become one in the near future.
The survey results are here.
Message from the Editor
Streeting recalls family ordeal at the hands of the RUC
Would-be British prime minister Wes Streeting is no fan of what was the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
In 2015, when he was a backbench Labour MP, Streeting took part in a House of Commons debate on Sri Lanka, then going through the aftermath of a bloody civil war.
Streeting interjected: “I have family who suffered at the hands of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and through the misconducts and misdeeds of the British government over many years, but is the hon. Gentleman seriously comparing the British government’s involvement in Northern Ireland with the appalling acts of brutality and war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government? I find that unbelievable.”
What family members? Streeting does not elaborate. His family biography, he was born to teenage parents and grew up in a council flat in East London, does not indicate that he had any Irish family. Watch this space.
Prospect of Burnham returning to parliament recedes
Meanwhile, the prospect of a return to parliament for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has receded as more MPs declared they did not intend to give up their seats to allow him to contest a byelection.
Manchester MPs Afzal Khan and Jeff Smith had been rumoured in Westminster to be willing to make way for Burnham.
But both men expressly denied to the Press Association that they were preparing to stand down.
Burnham, the potential contender favoured by the soft left of the party, pulled out of his regular Thursday morning BBC Radio Manchester phone-in slot, with his spokesman telling the broadcaster: “He has to prioritise discussions arising from last week’s local elections.” – PA
Labour left issues warning to Streeting
Wes Streeting is deeply unpopular on the Labour left. This morning Richard Burgon, secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group in parliament, posted a message saying that if Streeting launches a leadership bid today, he will be ignoring the wishes of Labour-affiliated trade unions.
Burgon said: “Wes Streeting launching a leadership bid today would be deliberately flying in the face of this joint statement from all of Labour’s affiliated trade unions for an orderly transition.
“Dismissing our trade unions like this will not help us learn the lessons or help us stop Farage.” – The Guardian
Reeves: Leadership contest could throw UK into ‘chaos’
UK chancellor Rachel Reeves warned this morning a leadership battle could plunge the UK “into chaos” and threaten its economic recovery.
Asked by the BBC about the possibility that health secretary Wes Streeting triggers a Labour Party leadership race, Reeves argued that the government will be able to invest more in public services and help households and businesses because of the pickup in growth.
But, she said, that is only possible because of the economic stability the government has brought back.
Reeves added: “We shouldn’t put that at risk by plunging the country into chaos at a time when there is conflict in the world, but also at a time when our plan to grow the economy is starting to bear fruit.” – The Guardian
Starmer ‘would probably win leadership contest’
Keir Starmer would “probably win” a leadership contest if Wes Streeting succeeds in triggering one, a prominent Labour MP has said.
North Durham MP Luke Akehurst told LBC Radio: “He’s happy to stand against all comers. He would probably win. Labour Party members don’t like the idea of chucking their leaders out.”
Akehurst said he would back the PM and added that the Labour Party should not indulge in constant leadership struggles like the Tory party has done.
He added: “So long as he’s [Starmer] in the final two, I’m pretty robust about Keir holding on if there is a contest.
“But it would paralyse government. It’s causing huge market turmoil. We’ve already lost £3 billion of money having to go on interest payments because of this market turmoil which we could be spending on public services.”
Andy Burnham’s radio absence fuels speculation
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has pulled out of his regular phone-in radio slot on local radio.
He was due to appear on BBC Radio Manchester’s Mike Sweeney’s programme on Thursday morning.
It comes as speculation mounts over a potential challenge to British prime minister Keir Starmer’s leadership.
A spokesperson for Burnham told the BBC: “As you know, Andy doesn’t like to miss the hot seat.
“But this week, to get the best deal for Greater Manchester, he has to prioritise discussions arising from last week’s local elections.”
The election results for Burnham’s party were dire in Greater Manchester and across the country, while Reform UK and the Green Party made major gains.
Burnham is many people’s choice to succeed Starmer, but he cannot challenge for the leadership until he gets a seat in parliament.
Race against time to find Andy Burnham a safe seat
A Labour MP has denied reports he is preparing to step down to allow Andy Burnham to stand in a byelection in a bid to return to Westminster.
There had been reports that Afzal Khan, the MP for Manchester Rusholme, was prepared to step aside and trigger a byelection for Burnham to run in.
The mayor of Greater Manchester would need to find a parliamentary seat to stand in, and then win it, to be able to stand in a leadership election.
He is said to have been speaking to MPs in the Manchester area to find somewhere to stand.
Khan told BBC News: “No, it’s not me. I’m not stepping down.”
Rayner could put herself forward for leadership contest
Angela Rayner has suggested she could enter any leadership contest, should one be triggered by Wes Streeting on Thursday.
“I’ll play my part in doing everything we possibly can to deliver the change, because it’s not a personal ambition, I know the difference it makes,” she told The Guardian.
“Whatever role I can play, I will keep pushing and pushing hard because I want the people out there at the moment who are really struggling ... to know that I’m putting all my energy into fighting for them.”
Coincidentally, Rayner has been cleared of wrongdoing by revenue. .
The former deputy prime minister has settled £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty after initially paying the lower rate, but has not paid any penalty as a result of the investigation. UK revenue was also satisfied there was no tax avoidance.
Rayner did not rule out endorsing a soft-left rival if they had a better chance of success in any contest, raising the prospect of potential candidates on her wing of the party agreeing who would represent them.
“I don’t think it’s a case of each person for themselves, but I do think it’s a case of people seeing how they can pull the party together and have the vision to take us forward. You have to play your role as part of a team,” she said.
But Starmer’s former deputy ruled out launching a coup herself. “I’ve made it clear that I wasn’t going to trigger the prime minister – and that I want to see change. I want to see actions, not just words.”
Asked whether Starmer should step aside, she said: “Keir will have to reflect on that.”
UK economy shows surprising level of growth
Keir Starmer has received a timely if modest economic boost.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.6 per cent between January and March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
This was higher than the 0.5 per cent growth that most economists had been expecting, and marks the highest since the first quarter of 2025.
The ONS also said GDP increased by 0.3 per cent in March, surprising economists who had been expecting growth to slow following the onset of the war in the Middle East.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “Growth picked up in the first quarter of the year, led by broad-based increases across the services sector.
“Within that wholesale, computer programming and advertising performed particularly well.
“Production also grew slightly, while construction returned to growth, though only partly reversing weakness at the end of last year.”
How does a Labour leadership contest work?
Leadership heaves are familiar to British politics in recent years, but it’s party rules that govern such contests, and Labour’s work differently to the Tory systems that produced Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in succession after David Cameron’s post-Brexit resignation.
Labour rules state a candidate with the support of 20 per cent of MPs ( or 81 from Labour’s current total of 403) can trigger a challenge. The prime minister can automatically contest that challenge if he wishes – and he is expected to do so.
Any other candidate with 20 per cent support can also then join the ballot – though the numbers may run out quickly as some have pledged support for the PM, and more than 100 people have ministerial or other government roles from which they would be expected to resign if they lost confidence in the leader.
The vote is by ranked choice, with the first candidate above 50 per cent becoming leader and last-placed candidates eliminated until someone triumphs.
Rayner cleared of tax wrongdoing
Wes Streeting comes from the right of the Labour Party, so it is expected that if a contest were triggered, MPs of the so-called soft left would produce their own candidate to oppose both him and Keir Starmer, whose poor local election results, personal polling and perceived struggle to get to grips with Britain’s problems have rendered his position shaky within the party.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham lacks the seat in parliament required to challenge in an imminent contest, so an alternative is required.
By coincidence, the way has been cleared for another candidate. Angela Rayner has been cleared by tax authorities of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs, the Guardian’s Pippa Crerar reported overnight, paving the way for a potential leadership bid.
The former deputy prime minister has settled £40,000 (€46,000) in unpaid stamp duty after initially paying the lower rate, but has not paid any penalty as a result of the investigation. The revenue commissioners were also satisfied there was no tax avoidance.
Ed Miliband, a former Labour leader, has also featured in discussions as an option should he be needed.
Streeting poised for challenge
A contest for the leadership of the UK Labour Party and a place in 10 Downing Street threatens again to break out on Thursday with health secretary Wes Streeting thought to be on the verge of resigning from cabinet.
Allies of Streeting were phoning fellow MPs on Wednesday night asking for support in a putative heave against prime minister Keir Starmer, London Correspondent Mark Paul reports.
A challenger needs a minimum of 81 MPs – roughly a fifth of Labour’s parliamentary party – to pledge their formal backing to trigger a leadership contest under party rules.
Starmer is automatically entitled to enter the contest to defend his position. It is understood he plans to fight that contest if it is triggered.
