For all that Labour’s left denounce Wes Streeting as a reincarnated Blairite, he has friendships and alliances across various Labour factions, not all of which lean into each other.
As he considers a possible bid to challenge Keir Starmer, the MPs supporting him are not ideological clones. Some are personal allies, while others simply see him as one of the few senior Labour figures capable of communicating beyond Westminster.
Zubir Ahmed
Zubir Ahmed. Photograph: Laurie Noble/PA The Glasgow South West MP is among the small group of Streeting-supporting junior ministers who resigned on Tuesday. Working in Streeting’s health department, the former surgeon collaborated closely with Streeting on NHS reform. Ahmed used his resignation to publicly criticise Starmer’s leadership.
Jess Phillips
Jess Phillips. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian One of the better-known ministers, despite her officially junior role covering safeguarding in the Home Office, Phillips also resigned on Tuesday as Streeting’s allies sought to pick up momentum to push Starmer out.
The Birmingham Yardley MP departed with a stinging letter of departure, saying the prime minister was too cautious and wedded to process to deliver bold action, even in her vital brief.
Joe Morris
Joe Morris. Photograph: House of Commons The MP for Hexham since 2024 – the first Labour representative for the Northumberland seat since it was created – was Streeting’s own parliamentary private secretary, the lowest rung of frontbench work.
His resignation on Monday evening was seen as firing the starting gun on a possible Streeting bid. The two are close – Streeting travelled north to campaign for Morris to become an MP.
Alex Davies-Jones
Alex Davies-Jones. Photograph: PA The Pontypridd MP, who was the well-regarded safeguarding minister in the Home Office, is also viewed by colleagues as in Streeting’s orbit, and resigned on Tuesday.
She was also adamant that Starmer should step down, writing in her resignation letter to him: “I implore you to act in the country’s interest and set out a timetable for your departure.”
Chris Curtis
Chris Curtis. Photograph: Roger Harris/UK Parliament Another 2024-intake MP, after taking Milton Keynes North from the Conservatives, Curtis is chair of the influential Labour Growth Group, which lobbies on economic and planning reform.
Speaking on Monday after a speech by Starmer in London, Curtis said it had not done enough to save the prime minister, and that he should set a timetable to leave.
Alan Gemmell
Alan Gemmell. Photograph: Iain Masterton/Alamy Yet another member of the 2024 intake, the Central Ayrshire MP and former diplomat is close to Streeting, and like Curtis, on Monday called on Starmer to resign.
Melanie Ward
Melanie Ward. Photograph: PjrNews/Alamy Also a 2024 arrival, and also a Scottish MP, representing Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, Ward was PPS to David Lammy, the justice secretary and deputy PM, before stepping down on Monday amid a wave of resignations by Streeting allies.
Peter Kyle
Peter Kyle. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images The business secretary has been publicly loyal to Starmer so far, and thus has not acted like an outrider, as those above have. But Kyle, who represents Hove and Portslade, is very close friends with Streeting, and shares a similar ideological viewpoint.
Sent out to represent the government on Monday’s early media round, Kyle dismissed the idea of Streeting mounting a challenge, saying that in the wake of last week’s local elections, rather than plotting the pair had gone out to dinner and to watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 at the cinema.