Title: Rayner, Streeting, and Burnham Deal Blow to PM Amidst 12-Hour Political Storm

While Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stood in the House of Lords on Wednesday to witness the King deliver the government’s legislative agenda, three of his most significant internal rivals within the Labour Party were simultaneously orchestrating their next strategic moves. Andy Burnham spent much of the day lobbying MP Josh Simons, a former staunch supporter of Starmer, urging him to end his parliamentary career to bolster Labour’s position. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Wes Streeting was in Parliament with his inner circle, debating whether to resign from the cabinet post he had long desired. That same afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner retreated to a London hotel suite to secretly record a television interview addressing her tax settlement with HMRC.

By Thursday, following a tumultuous 12-hour period, all three figures had acted, significantly weakening the Prime Minister’s standing.

Rayner’s Strategic Return

The decisive email from HMRC arrived in the inbox of Rayner’s tax lawyer, Graham Aaronson, on Tuesday afternoon. According to allies, the prevailing sentiment within the former deputy prime minister’s team was one of relief and vindication. “The key point was she’d been cleared of either tax dodging or being careless,” an associate noted. Nevertheless, Rayner agreed to pay £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty.

Although the timing of the HMRC resolution was unforeseen, it proved potentially advantageous for Rayner, arriving just as MPs were divided over Starmer’s leadership and a contest seemed plausible. However, Rayner’s camp maintained that she did not intend to overshadow the King’s speech or undermine new legislation she helped craft during her tenure as a minister. Her goal was rather to make a calculated impact.

Her team opted for a dual-interview strategy—one newspaper and one television appearance—and scheduled them for publication the following morning. Shortly after the monarch departed Buckingham Palace by carriage, having removed his Imperial State Crown and robes, Rayner met with Guardian journalist Pippa Crerar in central London. She subsequently sat down with ITV’s Paul Brand in a nearby hotel suite. Both interviews were released at 06:00 on Thursday.

“It was timed to ensure we got it out, and it had a fair wave of attention before other dramas kicked off,” an ally explained. Notably, Rayner did not alert the Prime Minister to the plans.

Streeting’s Resignation

As Westminster focused on Rayner’s interviews, Streeting remained undecided about his future. “He didn’t begin the week planning to resign,” a colleague stated. Yet, his departure grew increasingly inevitable as days passed. During a brief meeting on Wednesday, Streeting informed Sir Keir that he had lost faith in the Prime Minister’s leadership.

The ambiguity surrounding the former health secretary’s status led critics to label him a “bottler,” claiming he lacked the necessary number of MPs to formally challenge Starmer. Streeting’s allies strongly refute this. “I’ve seen the spreadsheet,” one claimed, while another added, “He’d been calling round MPs and had got the numbers he needed, but through those conversations he’d concluded that any contest would have to enable the broadest set of candidates. That meant giving Andy Burnham a chance to state his intention and come back if he wanted.”

Streeting’s team also recognized that without a credible victory, he would struggle to command support from Labour MPs, particularly if difficult legislation arose. He finalized his decision on Thursday morning. “He had a few cabinet ministers and people in Number 10 asking him not to go,” a supporter recalled. “But he spoke to friends and colleagues in Parliament and made up his mind.”

Streeting drafted his resignation letter in his wood-paneled ministerial office at the Palace of Westminster. A friend described the decision as not taken lightly. “But once he’d made it, he was certain it was right and honourable. It was done with a heavy heart but with total conviction.”

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-05-15 20:21:08 UTC