Streeting in standoff with No 10 as allies claim ‘things are shifting’

Source claims Streeting has enough support to challenge Keir Starmer but he is still hoping PM will resign Wes Streeting is locked in a standoff with No 10 as allies claimed he had the numbers to launch a leadership challenge but still hoped Keir Starmer would resign. The health secretary had been widely expected to launch a challenge on Thursday and has told supporters he has the backing of the 81 MPs required to launch a formal contest. A source close to Streeting said he had the numbers but “things are shifting”. But allies said he was still hoping not to have to move against Starmer directly and that more and more MPs were privately asking the prime minister to resign or set out a departure timetable. Cabinet ministers told the Guardian it was untrue that they were planning to ask Starmer to go on Thursday afternoon, accusing Streeting’s supporters of trying to “brief resignations into existence”. The Guardian revealed on Thursday that Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, has been cleared by HMRC over her tax affairs. It gives Rayner the opportunity now to enter any leadership contest, which she has indicated she will do if Streeting challenges the prime m