The UK health secretary resigned in a scathing letter, challenging Starmer's leadership

Attempts to oust British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sparked protests on Thursday, with one potential challenger resigning from the Cabinet and another paving the way for him to enter any future contest.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting became the first senior minister to leave Starmer's cabinet in what is expected to be a prelude to a challenge to his leadership.

“He showed courage and bravery to the world – not least in keeping Britain out of the Iran war,” Streeting wrote in the letter. “But where we need vision, we have a nose. Where we need direction, we drift.”

“It is now clear that you will not lead the Labor Party in the next general election,” he added.

His announcement followed the resignation of the other four members of Starmer's government on Tuesday.

Starmer is facing growing pressure to step down from the back of his Labor Party disastrous results last week local and regional elections.

Streeting, whose political ambitions have long been known, is seen as one of the few people who could try to unseat Starmer.

In his letter, he talked about the progress in improving health services under his leadership, noting that waiting times for appointments to the National Health Service – one of his key signatures – had gone up for the fifth month in a row.

Streeting also argued that supporters “want a debate about what's next and it's a battle of ideas, not of individuals or small groups. It needs to be broad, and it needs a better field of candidates.”

Others may be challenges

Another potential challenger, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, said on Thursday she had reached an agreement with tax authorities to answer questions about her taxes that forced her to leave the Cabinet last September.

Rayner told the Guardian newspaper that Starmer should “reflect” on his position, adding that he was ready to “play my part” in any leadership election if Streeting were to revive the race.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is also widely seen as a possible candidate, although he will have to find a way back into Parliament before running. Allies suggested that a sitting member of the House of Commons might resign so that Burnham could run in a special election.

Burnham has canceled his Thursday appearance on the BBC's local program this week to “prioritize discussions from last week's election.”

Under Labor Party rules, any challenger to the prime minister would need the support of 81 of the party's 403 members in the House of Commons. More than that number have publicly called on Starmer to step down in recent days.

The move to the street comes from the centrist wing of the left-leaning Labor Party, as does Starmer. Rayner is a favorite of many voters on the left, calling on the party to do more to raise the minimum wage and raise taxes on the rich.

Others may run for leadership.

While there is a chance that the current efforts to remove Starmer will come off, that is likely to delay the crisis for several months given the degree of fragmentation in British politics, said Jonathan Tonge, a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool.

If “a civil war is breaking out between the Labor Party that should be in power right now, it's an unusual situation considering it's less than two years since Keir Starmer won the biggest election ever,” Tonge said.

“He has a huge majority in Parliament, he has more than 400 MPs, and yet his premiership may be on the verge of collapse,” he added.

Economic and electoral losses have a negative impact

Pressure for Starmer to step down has intensified since Labor lost heavily in local and regional elections last week, with the opposition, anti-immigrant Reform UK, led by Trump supporter Nigel Faragegreat gain.

The results underscored voters' frustration with a government that has failed to deliver on promises to boost economic growth and improve the living standards of working people.

A faltering economy and forced inflation have made it difficult for Starmer's government to deliver on its promises after winning a landslide election less than two years ago.

Starmer vowed to stay in office, warning lawmakers that any leadership contest would throw the government into “chaos” at a time when it should be focusing on issues such as the cost of living crisis and the war in the Middle East.

“The country expects us to continue to govern,” Starmer said on Tuesday. “That's what I'm doing and what we have to do as a Cabinet.”

His bid to fend off a leadership challenge was boosted Thursday morning by rare good economic news. Gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic activity, grew by 0.6% in the first three months of the year, compared with 0.2% in the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

Treasurer Rachel Reeves said these figures show that her policies are working and that the economic recovery will allow the government to invest more in social programs and programs to support those affected by the high cost of living.

“But that is only possible because of the economic recovery we have brought back into our economy,” he told the BBC. “And we should not risk that by throwing the country into chaos at a time when there is conflict in the world.”