May 14, 2026 — 3:54am
London: Warring factions are set for a bruising fight over the Labour leadership after a brief pause to hear King Charles address the British parliament, with the government in disarray and Health Secretary Wes Streeting poised to seek the top job.
All sides stopped to hear the King’s speech at the opening of parliament in Westminster on Wednesday morning (London time) despite the turmoil over the government’s direction, as the monarch read out a policy agenda that may not survive a leadership spill.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is daring his challengers to call a formal contest if they want to blast him out of the job, declaring he was chosen by the voting public at a general election and will stay focused on his work.
Streeting met Starmer for about 20 minutes in Downing Street on Wednesday morning to discuss the leadership, but made no public statement about his plans in the hours after their talks.
