Keir Starmer ‘below strain to sack Wes Streeting’ for disloyalty over management ambitions – as ministers name for him to be ‘delivered to heel’

The Labour party was in fresh turmoil last night amid claims some in the Cabinet want Sir Keir Starmer to sack Wes Streeting for disloyalty and undermining No 10.

Cabinet ministers are said to have become increasingly frustrated by the Health Secretary’s outspoken pronouncements and privately accused him of putting his leadership ambitions ahead of the party.

One cabinet minister told The Times that Starmer should learn from Kemi Badenoch‘s sacking of Robert Jenrick, adding that what Streeting is doing is so ‘obvious, he is repeatedly breaching collective responsibility, he is attacking No 10, he is undermining all of us.’

They added: ‘The [parliamentary Labour Party] don’t like what he is doing, they would back [the prime minister] if he acted.’

Another cabinet minister said: ‘Wes is exactly the same as he was when he was 18 … If he doesn’t become Labour prime minister he will tell himself his entire life has been a failure. Everything he’s doing now is in pursuit of that aim. Has he been pushing the boundary of what’s acceptable? Yes.’

A third cabinet minister said Streeting had to ‘be brought to heal’, adding that his allies had been telling MPs ‘it’s time to get rid of Keir’. 

Labour has faced a rocky start to the New Year, with two major U-turns already racked up and dire polls showing the party falling behind the Tories and Reform in popularity among the British public.

While Starmer’s allies have urged for unity among senior MPs, divisions remain in cabinet over whether to continue backing the PM or those who believe a change is the only way to save the government, the Times reported. 

Streeting, who is widely tipped as a potential successor to Sir Keir, has made a number of thinly veiled swipes at the government in recent months, with some MPs claiming he is increasingly jockeying for power. 

Some Cabinet members reportedly want Sir Keir to sack Wes Streeting for disloyalty and undermining No 10

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is widely tipped as a potential successor to Sir Keir Starmer

Just this week, the Health Secretary took a dig at Starmer’s frequent U-turns, having now clocked up more than a dozen in only 18 months in power. 

Most recently the PM rolled back on his flagship plans to make digital ID cards mandatory for right to work checks, which will instead be made entirely optional when they are introduced in 2029. 

On Tuesday, Mr Streeting defended the right of Government to change its mind in response to public feedback, saying it was ‘far better to do the right thing rather than to spare one’s political blushes’.

But he added: ‘In the NHS, we have an initiative called GIRFT – get it right first time. That should be our resolution for 2026 – let’s try and get it right first time.’

And in a further sign of straying from the party line, Mr Streeting also called for  ‘action’ on banning under 16s from using social media amid concerns that it is harming the ‘life chances of young people’.

Mr Streeting has previously denied plotting against the PM, instead insisting he is focused on bolstering the NHS. A No 10 source said Mr Streeting was doing a ‘great job’ in his role. 

The Daily Mail has contacted Mr Streeting for comment.   

As fury among Labours MPs mounted over the recent climbdowns, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander urged the Cabinet to form a ‘praetorian guard’ around Starmer in an ’emotional’ meeting this week. 

Separately, Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell has warned that it would be ‘madness’ to descend into ‘warfare’ over ousting Sir Keir.

One cabinet minister said Starmer should learn from Kemi Badenoch’s treatment of Robert Jenrick and sack Streeting

Mr Streeting has previously denied plotting against the PM, instead insisting he is focused on bolstering the NHS

The May local elections are bow increasingly seen as a critical moment for whether the Sir Keir survives his tenure as mutinous Labour MPs continue to push against him on multiple fronts.

Details of the political Cabinet session were leaked to the New Statesman, often regarded as the Labour ‘bible’. One loyalist told the magazine that Sir Keir ‘summed up’ after a long discussion on the party’s plight.

‘It was very emotional, and forthright. Everyone was slightly taken aback to be honest by the passion and fluency of his remarks and what this is all about and why we’re doing it,’ the source said.

In an interview with Vogue magazine, Ms Powell stressed the need for a new approach.

But she said: ‘It would be madness to get into a conversation about changing leaders. We only just won a big mandate and we have a lot to do. We don’t want to descend into warfare.

‘The Tories had three prime ministers in three months and it didn’t change their fortunes.’

Rachel Reeves made an effort to quell rumours about Sir Keir’s future earlier this week, telling ITV’s Peston programme there was ‘no credible alternative’ as PM.