Politics
Streeting’s showdown with Starmer lasted just 16 minutes
On Wednesday 13 May, the front page of the Telegraph declared the following:
— 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢
Streeting has now arrived at Downing Street to confront Starmer.
Streeting has also left Downing Street.
In total, he was there for just sixteen minutes.
16-minute showdown
The following is a video of Streeting arriving at Downing Street:
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) May 13, 2026
And this is him leaving:
NEW: Wes Streeting leaves Downing Street after just *16 minutes* with PM. — Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 13, 2026
pic.twitter.com/JqgMp5L0ZJ
As reported by the Telegraph:
Mr Streeting will ask Sir Keir how he plans to resolve the “turbulence” around his leadership and get Labour out of a “mess”, after the party lost more than 1,000 seats and the control of several English councils to Reform UK.
The fact that Streeting was only there for 16 minutes suggests one of two possible outcomes:
- Starmer has devised a plan so cunningly simple it took mere minutes to assure Streeting all is well.
- Starmer refused to say much of anything.
There’s good reason to think it’s the latter. As Politics UK reported on 12 May:
UPDATE: It's understood Starmer told Cabinet Ministers to raise any concerns with him privately rather than during the meeting
However, it's claimed he then refused to meet them individually
Wes Streeting was among the last to leave No 10 well after other Cabinet members
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) May 12, 2026
Following the Streeting showdown, the Times’ Steven Swinford wrote:
The briefings about the Streeting and Starmer meeting being ‘just two blokes having a coffee’ this morning are bizarre
He added:
We know the meeting lasted just *16* minutes. That is barely enough time for a proper cup of coffee
All of this points in one direction. It certainly doesn’t point to a convivial cup of coffee
We’ll see how things pan out – Team Streeting is going to ground today – but the whole thing is a tinderbox
Streeting is supposedly not going to mount a challenge to Starmer today because the King’s Speech is happening, as Dan Hodges reported:
Where we are:
* Wes Streeting will make no move today because of King’s Speech * I’m told at least 3 cabinet ministers attempted to speak to Keir Starmer after cabinet, but were rebuffed
* MPs amazed at the bullish messages coming from No.10. “They’re goading the PLP” one says
— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) May 13, 2026
The questions is whether he’ll ever launch a challenge, with his support allegedly having evaporated:
BREAKING: An ally of Wes Streeting – who came out publicly to call for Starmer to go – says Streeting has “blown it.” They say he has lost support today from MPs who might have backed him and that they now don’t think he has the numbers to get on the ballot. https://t.co/PSx2ent1AQ
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) May 12, 2026
Given that Streeting is a much-hated privatisation fetishist with ties to Peter Mandelson, it’s unclear why he thinks anyone should see him as an alternative to Starmer.
Dwindling support
Starmer does have some supporters left. As Skwawkbox reported on 12 May, however, he has fewer than he claims. Specifically, three of the MPs who supposedly signed a letter of support for the PM claim not to have signed it:
Surprised to see my name on this list when I haven’t either signed any letter supporting the PM or called for the PM to go??
Not very courteous of colleagues to put names down without their approval https://t.co/2TofoVdfKb — Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) May 12, 2026
In terms of those opposing the PM, James Wright wrote on 12 May:
The Tribune Group of more than 100 Labour MPs have called for the prime minister to steer the party back to the left. Meanwhile, 81 MPs have demanded he stand down after Labour came third in the local elections when it comes to national vote share.
The number of MPs calling for Starmer to go has grown since then too:
"Something has got to give."
With over 90 MPs calling for Keir Starmer to resign, the prime minister is "still dug in", says Times Radio presenter John Pienaar. pic.twitter.com/oEdWYOqOXz
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) May 12, 2026
What happens next?
Starmer is stubbornly ignoring the fact that he’s lost the faith of the British public and his own party. Quite how long he can get away with this for we don’t know, but it’s longer than 16 minutes.
Featured image via The Canary
By Willem Moore
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