UK's health secretary resigns as Keir Starmer faces leadership challenge
發佈日期: 2026-05-15 21:51
TVB News
Efforts to unseat British Prime Minister Keir Starmer from within his own party breaks into open rebellion Thursday, with one potential rival resigning from the Cabinet and two others positioning themselves for a future leadership challenge.
Britain's Health Secretary Wes Streeting became the first senior minister to quit Thursday in what is seen as a precursor to challenging Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership. He says he has lost confidence in Starmer who should not serve out the rest of his term.
(Reporter: Are you going to be our next prime minister?)
Danica Kirka from the Associated Press said: "Wes Streeting, said that he was resigning, even though he gave credit to the prime minister for his efforts on the international stage, particularly with Iran. Domestically, he identified that he had issues. He said that the country was looking for a vision and got a vacuum. He said they were looking for direction and got drift."
Starmer is under pressure to step down after disastrous results for his Labour Party last week in local and regional elections cementing doubts among many party members about Starmer's judgement, vision and leadership ability a brutal indictment on a leader who returned Labour to power in July 2024 after 14 years in opposition.
There are some party members who still support the prime minister.
UK education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "The Prime Minister has my full support and I'm really sorry to see Wes (Streeting) go. He has been a brilliant Health Secretary, he's done a fantastic job and we see that today with the NHS waiting list numbers that are really encouraging and what people want to see but I fundamentally disagree with the position he's taken. I'm sad that he's gone but I think this is now a chance for us to pause, take a breath as a party and try and draw a line under all of this."
Jonathan Tonge, a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool, said: "If Wes Streeting does challenge Keir Starrmer, it's almost certain, I think, that there will be other challenges enter the fray provided they can get the support of 81 MPs themselves. So, in effect, a civil war opens up within a Labour Party that's supposed to be governing us at present."
Tonge said "It's an extraordinary state of affairs, given it's less than two years since Keir Starmer won one of Labour's greatest election victories ever, their third greatest election victory ever. He's got a huge parliamentary majority, he's got more than 400 MPs, and yet his prime ministership may be on the brink of disintegration."
Other ministers positioning themselves for the top job include Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister and Andy Burnham, popular Mayor of Manchester.
