Starmer holds 16-minute meeting with Streeting amid leadership crisis

Wes Streeting has held talks with Keir Starmer in Downing Street as an ally of the health secretary renewed calls for the prime minister to resign, saying his authority had “irretrievably ebbed away”.Streeting arrived in No 10 on Wednesday morning amid intense speculation over Labour’s leadership crisis and his own future within the party. He left approximately 16 minutes later without commenting to the media.The health secretary’s allies had sought to portray Wednesday’s meeting as a moment for Streeting to speak candidly about his concerns. But No 10 insiders suggested Streeting was playing down speculation that he was on the brink of declaring his candidacy for the leadership

Easy as ABC: voters in England tend to pick names nearer top of ballot, data suggests

Fancy your chances in politics? Then perhaps you should change your name to Aaron Aaronson or Aaliyah Aardvark, figures from last week’s local elections in England suggest.A Guardian analysis of election results compiled by the website Democracy Club points to a striking alphabet effect. In wards where a party fielded three candidates, those listed nearer the top of the ballot paper – with a surname nearer the start of the alphabet – finished ahead of their party colleagues in 2,200 cases, or 65% of the time.By contrast, candidates listed third out of their party’s list – with a surname nearer the end of the alphabet – topped their party’s slate only 382 times, or 11%. If ballot order had no relationship with performance, the figures would be expected to fall much closer to one-third in each position

Labour-supporting unions predict Starmer will not lead party into next election

Keir Starmer will not lead his party into the next general election, Labour-supporting unions have predicted, in an intervention that threatens to further destabilise the prime minister after a damaging few days.The 11 Labour-affiliated unions – which include Unite, Unison and the GMB – are expected to issue a joint statement on Wednesday saying “at some stage” the party will have to put a plan in place to elect a new leader.At a private meeting on Tuesday, the unions were divided over whether to call for Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure, with one source telling the Guardian there had been a “big fight” among union officials.However, they are understood to have agreed to issue a statement saying they expect there to be a change of leadership, despite GMB and Community arguing it was not in the unions’ best interests to get involved in leadership wrangling.In a leaked copy of the statement, the unions said it was clear to them that Labour “cannot continue on its current path”, and despite some progress it was not doing enough to deliver the change people voted for at the last election

Starmer hopes to regain momentum with unveiling of dozens of bills in king’s speech

Keir Starmer will attempt to regain the political initiative on Wednesday as his government announces a package of 35 bills for the next parliamentary session, covering everything from housing to immigration.The embattled prime minister will release details of dozens of bills that he intends to pass over the next 12 months, even as his own MPs line up to demand his resignation.Starmer, who insisted on Monday that he wanted to oversee radical change over the next few years, will announce a bill to move closer to the EU, one to strengthen the immigration system and one to all but end the leasehold system.He said on Tuesday night: “The British people expect the government to get on with the job of changing our country for the better. Cutting the cost of living, bringing down hospital waiting lists and keeping our country safe in an increasingly dangerous world

Streeting to meet Starmer on Wednesday as the prime minister defies calls to step down – as it happened

This is from Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s political editor.double quotation markEXCL: Zubir Ahmed, health minister and another close ally of Wes Streeting, quits calling for Keir Starmer to step aside.Feels like the Streeting bid could be onHere is the letter..

How Keir Starmer lost authority over two days of confusion and drama

As the afternoon faded in Westminster, final preparations were being made for Wednesday’s state opening of parliament, where King Charles will set out a year-long legislative programme for a government that even its most ardent allies fear might not last the week. Once again, here we are.Keir Starmer is still the UK’s prime minister. It is even possible he might be in a few months from now. But after two days punctuated by confusion and drama on a scale that belies Labour’s promise to end years of political upheaval, his authority appears shredded

Starmer given a lifeline after Streeting challenge fails to materialise

Keir Starmer was increasingly confident that he had seen off the immediate threat to his job on Tuesday after a challenge from Wes Streeting failed to materialise despite several of the health secretary’s allies quitting the government.Downing Street insiders suggested that the health secretary did not yet have the required support from the 81 MPs he needed to formally launch a leadership bid after Starmer issued a “put up or shut up” ultimatum to his cabinet.Streeting was due to hold talks with Starmer on Wednesday, at which he was expected to talk candidly about his concerns, with No 10 insiders suggesting he was climbing down from intense speculation that he was on the brink of running.“After all that, it’s looking like Wes may not have the numbers after all,” one loyalist cabinet minister told the Guardian. “I’m pleased and furious at the same time

Online safety campaigners reveal Starmer frustrations after Phillips exit

Internet safety and children’s rights campaigners have accused Keir Starmer of failing to act on proposals to stop children sending and receiving nude images on their phones, after Jess Phillips resigned from the government saying she was tired of seeing “opportunities for progress stalled and delayed”.The Labour politician was one of four ministers who quit on Tuesday and joined more than 80 MPs calling for the prime minister to go.In a coruscating letter she focused on a lack of urgency and boldness in tackling child abuse images, accusing Starmer of failing to take action to stop children being able to take or send naked pictures.She said: “Over a year ago I presented solutions, long worked on by brilliant civil servants, that would end the ability for children in the UK to take naked images of themselves.“We could stop this abuse

Starmer needs sharper survival strategy if he is to stay on

The last time Keir Starmer faced a threat to his leadership, his core team assembled in the cabinet room and persuaded ministers to fire off a succession of supportive tweets in an attempt to keep him in office. This time has been different.As the number of MPs calling for the prime minister to resign has grown over the last 48 hours, much of the cabinet has remained quiet.And though the prime minister remained in office on Tuesday night, some in government were wondering whether his political operation was as sharp as it once was, especially since the departure of Starmer’s long-term aide Morgan McSweeney.“How could they not plan for this, it’s mad,” said one MP, frustrated at what they saw as a lack of fightback from Downing Street