‘Stupid’, ‘childish’ and ‘AAHHHHHH’: MPs’ verdict on No 10’s latest manoeuvre
Health secretary Wes Streeting appears in a stronger position than ever following a bizarre briefing about leadership challenges from Downing Street
It is a level of chaos that does not fit the narrative of a government elected fewer than 18 months ago with an enormous majority, yet here we are: with No 10 briefing journalists that Keir Starmer is ready to take on a leadership challenge.
For months, whispers about the Labour leader’s grip on his party have circulated through Westminster and political WhatsApp groups. The prime minister’s approval ratings are historically low, Reform UK is ahead in the opinion polls and, with an upcoming budget expected to break a manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT, the mood has soured. Add to that a very difficult set of local elections looming and those whispers have turned into rather more audible, and frequent, discussions.
Everyone I asked in Westminster told me that a leadership contest would be a matter of when, not if. What no one expected was that No 10 itself would fire the starting pistol.
The briefing from an anonymous Starmer ally that went out to journalists on Tuesday evening was striking in both its tone and its timing. The message: if there are any would-be candidates who want to topple the prime minister, he is willing to take them on. There had been no serious suggestion of an imminent move from anyone. Perhaps No 10 knows something the rest of us don’t — but, for the rest of us, it looked like political self-harm.
The man who appeared to be the intended target of this extraordinary outburst was the ever-ambitious health secretary, Wes Streeting. Streeting has never exactly hidden his leadership ambitions, but even he seemed blindsided. By almost hilarious coincidence, it was Streeting who had been chosen by the government to do the morning broadcast round before the briefing went out, so in the morning the stage was set for him to face the accusations.
He denied all the claims, accused No 10 of behaving in a “self-destructive way” and called those around Starmer “conspiracy theorists”. He added: “Nor did I shoot JFK.”
If this was designed to trip Streeting up, it had quite the opposite effect. Trying to figure out why a Starmer ally decided to brief against him is, frankly, mind-boggling — but, if the plan was to undermine or derail an undercover leadership move, it may have done precisely the opposite.
As one Labour MP put it to me: “[Streeting] may not have been actively planning to oust the prime minister right this second, but he has shown that he can communicate in a human way during a crisis. Well done to No 10 for giving him the chance to do that.”
Another MP echoed that sentiment: they thought the way Streeting joked and answered questions directly was in “complete contrast to what they got used to under Starmer”.
But that was not the only set of messages I got. My phone was pinging all morning as Labour MPs continued to message in disbelief. “This is a huge own goal. Total lunacy,” one told me. “Unnecessarily stupid,” said another.
The most cutting response came from a senior backbencher: “More evidence, if you ever needed it, that those around Starmer are more interested in those who disagree with them, always ready to start fights, than actually governing. Childish.”
My favourite message, though, came from a backbencher who simply sent an image of a woman screaming with the text: “AAHHHHHH.”
For all the humour, there is real anger beneath it. The general feeling among Labour MPs is that Starmer and his operation have refused to engage properly with backbenchers. “They strut around like they’re better than us — it’s a very us-and-them attitude,” one told me. “Instead, Streeting has been spending time in the tea rooms, talking to MPs. He’s always done it, putting the time in properly.”
In the febrile world of Westminster, relationships matter. The perception now is that Starmer’s No 10 has grown remote, secretive, and thin-skinned, while Streeting, whatever his politics and flaws, is seen by a lot of Labour MPs as being accessible and human.
Downing Street, realising the scale of the backlash, is now rowing back. Its new argument is that it did not proactively brief that the PM would fight any leadership challenge, but was instead reactively responding to journalists’ questions about an unspecified coup. Arguably, though, the damage has been done.
“What does this tell you about the inexperience in No 10?” one senior Labour backbencher asked me. That assessment, while brutal, reflects a growing concern within the party: that the operation around Starmer has lost political judgement. It is also striking how quickly Labour MPs now talk openly about succession.
Labour told us that Keir Starmer’s arrival in Downing Street would signal an end to the years of Tory turmoil. Instead it appears we are back in the world of potential leadership challenges and discussions about who will be next. The irony is that this entire debacle was avoidable. A little restraint, a little distance, and a little political maturity would have prevented it. Instead, No 10’s own hand lit the fuse.
For a government that came to power promising stability, this week has been a reminder that chaos is not the sole preserve of the Conservatives.
Shehab Khan is an award-winning presenter and political correspondent for ITV News.
