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Politics Home Article | Ed Miliband Allies Say He Has Numbers for Leadership Challenge
12th May, 2026. Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in Downing Street for a Cabinet meeting. | Alamy
2 min read
Ed Miliband has the numbers to stand in a leadership contest if Andy Burnham is unable, his allies say.
The Energy Secretary is understood to be considering running for Labour leader if Health Secretary Wes Streeting triggers a contest in the coming days.
According to Streeting’s allies he plans to resign and mount leadership challenge against the Prime Minister as early as tomorrow.
“If Miliband wants to run he has the numbers,” an ally told PoliticsHome.
Pressure is mounting on Keir Starmer to resign after 93 of his MPs, including four ministers and several junior aides, called for him to set out an orderly timetable for departure.
The Times reports Starmer told his allies he will stand and fight if Streeting succeeds in triggering a leadership contest. The Prime Minister has met with ministers tonight to shore up support.
The Greater Manchester Mayor is one of the candidates favoured among Labour MPs to replace Starmer, but would first have to return to Parliament as an MP.
It is still unclear which Greater Manchester MP will stand aside for Burnham and if the NEC would block him from standing again. There’s also no certainty Burnham would be able to find a route back to Parliament before a contest is triggered.
Miliband and Angela Rayner are seen as the likely soft left candidates to run against Streeting if a contest is triggered. Miliband previously led the party from 2010 to 2015, but lost decisively to David Cameron’s Conservatives in 2015 including all but one of its Scottish MPs.
A Rayner ally told PoliticsHome: “The left / soft left want Andy but most do want Angie if that doesn’t happen but Ed has growing support.”
LabourList polling in February found Ed Miliband is the most favoured member of the Labour Cabinet among party members with a net favourability of +70.
A Labour MP on the centre right told PoliticsHome that Miliband becoming Labour leader again would be a “catastrophe”.
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