Excited Keir Starmer, Wes Streeting and Catherine West are all seen sat together on his first day as an elected MP back in 2015, but now both appear to have turned on the PM
A throwback photo posted more than one decade ago of Keir Starmer, Wes Streeting and Catherine West in the Commons chamber together has resurfaced.
The embattled Prime Minister uploaded the awkward image on his first day as an elected MP back in 2015. Taken 11 years ago, he captioned the tweet of the three fresh-faced politicans: “Taking our seats for the 1st time @Catherinewest1 & @wesstreeting.” The post has done the rounds again online, and it provoked plenty of comment on social media ahead of Wednesday morning’s crunch meeting between the Labour leader his Health Secretary.
Earlier, Mr Streeting took time out from the Labour leadership standoff to celebrate the country’s heathcare heroes. The Health Secretary attend a service to commemorate the life of Florence Nightingale at London’s Westminster Abbey. The service, held annually, gives thanks to the nurses and midwives everywhere who continue Florence Nightingale’s legacy in improving health and care today. He spoke in front of the audience to pay tribute to the hard-working frontline workers.
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This weekend, the PM’s former pal Ms West urged Bridget Phillipson to stand against him, having warned that if Cabinet members do not pick a leader, she will challenge him herself. Threatening to topple Mr Starmer, she dramatically put members “on notice” that if they do not pick a new leader among themselves, she would.
Sitting next to Ms Phillipson on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Ms West said: “There’s nothing stopping Bridget from standing. Why are all the men better than the women?
“We do need some senior women to step forward and to challenge for what is going to be a really difficult two and a half years between now and the general election, and also to take us into that second term.”
Ms Phillipson responded: “I love you dearly, Catherine, but I just disagree on this one.” Mr Starmer himself has vowed to fight on, telling the Sunday Mirror he wants to see through his 10-year project to change the country.
Ms West told the presenter: “If you are a school failing an inspection report, you would take the head out, wouldn’t you? Or you take the chair of the council out.
“The same goes for a hospital inspection or in a company CEO would have to take responsibility and the board would have to basically bring on new leadership.” She said the party needs to “modernise” and accused Labour of looking “very dated”.
Despite four ministers quitting on Tuesday, more than 100 backbenchers are understood to have signed a letter in support of Mr Starmer while a source said Angela Rayner could throw her hat in the ring to take on Mr Streeting if a leadership contest was called.
The PM admitted the last few days had “destabilised” the Government, but said the process for challenging the Labour leader hadn’t been triggered, so he is going to “get on with governing”. But No10 has been rocked by the resignations of ministers Miatta Fahnbulleh, Jess Phillips, Alex Davies-Jones and Zubir Ahmed.
In a blistering resignation letter, Ms Phillips wrote: “Whilst progress has been made, we have not acted with the vision, pace and ambition that our mandate for change demands of us.”
