David MillikenUpdated May 17, 2026 — 10:49am,first published 10:39amLondon: Former health minister Wes Streeting said he would challenge Keir Starmer in any leadership contest held, days after stepping down and urging the British prime minister to set a timetable for his departure.“We need a proper contest with the best candidates on the field, and I will be standing,” Streeting told a conference of the Progress group of Labour supporters, who view themselves as being on the modernising wing of the party.Wes Streeting, former UK health secretary, at the Progress Conference 2026 in London.BloombergAddressing the group, Streeting described Britain’s 2016 referendum decision to leave the European Union as “a catastrophic mistake” that had made the country its weakest since before the Industrial Revolution. He said the UK should seek to rejoin the bloc.“We need a new special relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future lies with Europe, and one day – one day – back in the European Union,” he said.Starmer opposed Britain leaving the EU, but as prime minister, has rejected trying to rejoin or to make major concessions on areas like immigration, which the EU sees as essential for much closer economic ties.Late on Thursday, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he was standing for election in a newly vacant seat to return to parliament, a precondition for him to be able to challenge Starmer as prime minister.Starmer has rejected calls to step down after his party suffered a heavy defeat in local elections last week.Labour party rules require each challenger to get support from at least 20 per cent of the party’s members of parliament before being able to trigger a leadership election. This means they would need the backing of 81 of Labour’s 403 members. Starmer would automatically be entitled to run.Streeting insisted he had enough support to trigger a contest, but suggested he would “lack legitimacy” without Burnham having a chance to return to parliament.He said the future of the UK was at stake in the next general election and that Labour risked being “the handmaidens of [Reform UK’s] Nigel Farage” if the party did not heed the electorate’s warnings last week.Starmer is under growing pressure to step down after Labour haemorrhaged votes to both the anti-immigrant Reform UK party on the right and the Green Party on the left in local and regional elections. The electoral drubbing cemented doubts among many party members about Starmer’s judgment, vision and leadership less than two years after he led Labour to a landslide victory.Others said to be considering running in any leadership contest are former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, armed forces minister Al Carns and former party leader Ed Miliband.Reuters, APGet a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.More:World politicsUKKeir StarmerEUPolitical leadershipFrom our partners