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Wes Streeting Keir Starmer’s leadership appeared to be under further pressure after Labor’s defeat in Caerphilly by-election last Thursday.
Health Secretary told sunday times The Prime Minister was defeated in the Welsh Senedd elections.hartlepool [by-election] moment” in an important parallel to a defeat which almost seen Sir Keir steps down as Labor leader.
And although there is talk that the Prime Minister could bounce back, as he has done in the past, the comparison to Mr Streeting could be seen as further intensifying speculation over his leadership.
with Labor’s poll is now below 20 percent In many different surveys, discussion of ousting them Heated exchanges are taking place between MPs and ministers.
This comes as Labor members Elected lucy powellSir Keir, who had been sacked as ministers just weeks earlier, had appointed him as his deputy leader after rejecting his preferred choice, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
Meanwhile, for the Techni UK poll Independent revealed Voters are abandoning Labor for the Greens, who have risen three points to 12 per cent under Jack Polanski, while Labor has fallen to 19 per cent.
mr streeting told The Sunday Times: “When we were in opposition, we were shocked that Hartlepool – a town that had always been loyal to Labor – rejected us at the ballot box. Keir Starmer not only took that result seriously, he took it to heart. And he used Hartlepool and the Hartlepool experience to transform the Labor Party to make it electable and capable of winning a general election, which no one Didn’t think we would win.
“I have no doubt that, having done it before, Keir can do it again. We don’t just have to take Caerphilly’s message on the chin, we have to take it to heart – and we have to change the way our Labor government changes and delivers in the same way we did in opposition after Hartlepool.”
The Hartlepool by-election on 6 May 2021 took place when the Labor Party was at a low ebb and seemed unable to overcome the popularity of Boris Johnson before Partygate swept the Tories out of the way.
This was the first time Labor had lost the seat and just weeks later they faced another significant by-election in Batley and Spain on 1 July 2021.
Sources have confirmed that Sir Keir would have stepped down if Batley and Spain had lost to the Tories, with Mr Streeting understood to be preparing a leadership bid should that happen.
But Labour’s Kim Leadbeater, sister of former MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in 2016, won by 323 votes, saving Sir Keir’s leadership. From there, Labor eventually bounced back by winning the general election in 2024.
However, Mr Streeting’s comments The Sunday Times The Caerphilly defeat has already been seen by colleagues as a sign that Sir Keir may be short of time.
Health Secretary is one of five possible candidates Another possibility is with Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham taking over from within Parliament if he can mastermind a return as an MP.
An MP messaged Independent: “Wes knows it’s over.”
Caerphilly was a seat that Labor had held unbroken in Westminster and the Senedd for 107 years.
But it came third with only 11 per cent of the vote, behind second-place winners plaid Cymru and Reform.