Dozens of UK lawmakers are publicly urging Keir Starmer to step down as prime minister, but no potential contender has yet mounted a formal leadership challenge against him.
Just a handful of names are thought to be capable of mustering the required support of 81 lawmakers to trigger a leadership contest.
Here’s a look at who they are.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was tasked with repairing Britain’s depleted National Health Service (NHS), has long been considered the moderate future of Labour and is praised as one of the government’s most effective communicators.
But he has been harmed by his friendship with Peter Mandelson, the veteran Labour politician who was fired as Britain’s ambassador to Washington over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.
Andy Burnham
Most opinion polls show that Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, is the most popular politician in Britain. Where Starmer is often accused of lacking a political vision, Burnham champions “Manchesterism” – a brand of business-friendly, “aspirational socialism” that seeks to put essential services back in public control and make life “doable” for ordinary Britons.
But Burnham is not a member of parliament (MP), so he cannot – yet – stand to be Labour’s next leader.
Angela Rayner, Starmer’s former deputy prime minister, is popular among many young Labour voters and old-fashioned socialists for her earthy, extroverted manner.
As Starmer’s deputy, and as housing secretary, Rayner was responsible for many of the policies of which the Labour government is most proud.
However, Rayner resigned as deputy last year following a scandal over her failure to pay enough property tax on a second home. She claimed her mistake was unwitting and based on poor legal advice, but her unresolved tax affairs could blight a bid to oust Starmer as leader.
