Possible contenders if UK PM Starmer quits

As pressure grows on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to stand down, discussion centres on his potential successor as leader of the ruling Labour Party. The winner of any leadership race will be decided by the party’s members, not the general public. None of the possible candidates is universally popular in the party, however. The 43-year-old health minister has long been rumoured as a possible contender and many MPs urging Starmer to leave are his supporters.

Streeting, whose full name is Wesley, was one of the most visible Labour figures during the 2024 election campaign and hailed as one of its best communicators. Seen as on the right of the Labour party, he has praised former prime minister Tony Blair and spoken of his desire to lead the party. He comes from a working-class background in east London. Both his parents were teenagers when he was born.

He grew up in a flat on a municipal housing estate he has described as “grim” and attended state school.

He has talked about his grandfather being an armed robber who knew notorious London gangsters the Kray Brothers. After studying at the University of Cambridge, he was elected an MP in 2015. As health minister he has criticised striking medics. He is openly gay, his partner is a communications adviser.