Efforts to unseat British Prime Minister Keir Starmer from within his party broke into open rebellion on Thursday (May 15, 2026), with one potential rival resigning from the Cabinet and two others positioning themselves for a future leadership challenge.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting became the first senior Minister to quit on Thursday (May 14, 2026) in what was seen as a precursor to challenging Mr. Starmer’s leadership. He said he had lost confidence in Mr. Starmer, who should not serve out the rest of his term.

“You have shown courage and statesmanship on the world stage — not least in keeping Britain out of the war in Iran,” Mr. Streeting wrote in an excoriating resignation letter. “But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift.”

But Mr. Streeting stopped short of saying he was the best candidate to lead the party at the next election due by 2029, suggesting Starmer should step aside to allow a “broad” field of candidates to debate the future of the party.

Mr. Starmer is under growing pressure to step down after disastrous results for his Labour Party last week in local and regional elections.

The election drubbing cemented doubts among many party members about Mr. Starmer’s judgment, vision and leadership ability — a brutal indictment on a leader who returned Labour to power in July 2024 after 14 years in opposition.

Mr. Starmer responded in a generous letter to Mr. Streeting, saying he was “truly sorry” to see him leave the government and praised his stewardship of the state-run National Health Service.

Making no reference to Mr. Streeting’s criticisms, Mr. Starmer laid out his hope the two “can work together to show that Labour in power can address the problems our opponents exploit, can install hope where they want despair, and can bring people together where they want division”.

If Mr. Starmer doesn’t step down, any challenger would need support from a fifth of Labour lawmakers, or 81, to trigger a leadership contest.

For days, Mr. Streeting had been expected to launch a bid on Thursday (May 14), but the wording of his statement has stoked speculation he doesn’t have enough votes yet, or that he is giving Mr. Starmer a chance to announce his resignation on his own terms.

Another likely challenger, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, said on Thursday (May 14) that she had reached an agreement with authorities to clear up questions about her taxes that forced her to leave the Cabinet last September.

Ms. Rayner told the Guardian newspaper that Starmer should “reflect on” his position, adding that she was ready to “play my part” in any leadership election if Streeting triggered a contest.

A third rival, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, is ineligible for the leadership because he doesn’t have a seat in Parliament, but on Thursday (May 14) afternoon a Labour lawmaker said he would step aside to make room and Burnham said he would seek permission from party to enter a special election. He could then mount a leadership challenge if elected.

“I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years,” Mr. Burnham said on X. “I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.”

Pressure for Mr. Starmer to step aside has intensified since Labour suffered heavy losses in local and regional elections last week, underscoring voter frustration with a government that has failed to deliver on pledges to boost economic growth and improve living standards for working people.

A stagnant economy and stubbornly high inflation have made it difficult for Mr. Starmer’s government to deliver on the promises it made when winning a landslide election victory less than two years ago.

Mr. Starmer has vowed to remain in office, warning lawmakers that any leadership contest would destabilise the government when it should be focused on issues like the cost of living crisis and war in the Middle East.

The leadership wrangles overshadowed some positive news for the government.

Official figures showed the British economy grew 0.6% in the first three months of the year — more than had been anticipated and larger than the previous quarter, despite the negative impact from the Iran war. More growth means more tax revenues to fund Labour’s priorities and potentially lower borrowing.

Treasury chief Rachel Reeves said the figures showed her policies were working and the party shouldn’t put hard-won economic stability at risk “by plunging the country in chaos at a time when there is conflict in the world”.

Streeting himself hailed figures showing that waiting lines for NHS appointments — one of his signature priorities — fell for the fifth straight month, an achievement he is likely to point to if he runs for leader.

Streeting comes from a faction of the left-leaning Labour Party that sees itself as the modernising wing, as does Starmer. Rayner is a favorite of members who think the party has strayed too far from its working-class roots and those who want the party to do more to boost the minimum wage and raise taxes on the rich.

Unlike the Conservative Party, Labour has never ousted a Prime Minister in midterm.

“They don’t do ruthless on their leader,” said Jonathan Tonge, a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool. “They don’t tend to depose their leader. The Conservatives, they readily do ruthless.”

Even if Mr. Starmer survives this current bout of jitters, he will likely face another challenge in a few months given the level of fragmentation in British politics, he added.

“He’s got a huge parliamentary majority, he’s got more than 400 MPs, and yet his prime ministership may be on the brink of disintegration,” Mr. Tonge said.

Published – May 15, 2026 10:15 am IST

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday (October 25, 2025) urged the United States to expand sanctions on Russian oil from two companies to the whole sector, and appealed for long-range missiles to hit back at Russia.

Mr. Zelenskyy was in London for talks with two dozen European leaders who have pledged military help to shield his country from future Russian aggression if a ceasefire stops the more than three-year war.

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The meeting hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer aimed to step up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding momentum to recent measures that have included a new round of sanctions from the United States and European countries on Russia’s vital oil and gas export earnings.

The talks also addressed ways of helping protect Ukraine’s power grid from Russia’s almost daily drone and missiles attacks as winter approaches, enhancing Ukrainian air defenses, and supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles that can strike deep inside Russia. Zelenskyy has urged the U.S. to send Tomahawk missiles, an idea U.S. President Donald Trump has flirted with.

The Ukrainian leader said Mr. Trump’s decision this week to impose oil sanctions was “a big step,” and said “we have to apply pressure not only to Rosneft and Lukoil, but to all Russian oil companies.” “Besides, we are carrying out our own campaign of pressure with drones and missiles specifically targeting the Russian oil sector,” he said during a news conference at the Foreign Office in London.

Mr Trump has also put on hold a plan for a swift meeting with Mr Putin in Budapest, as he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.” Putin has so far resisted efforts to push him into negotiating a peace settlement with Mr. Zelenskyy and has argued that the motives for Russia’s all-out invasion of its smaller neighbour are legitimate. Russia has also been adept at finding loopholes in Western sanctions.

A top Russian official said on Friday he has arrived in the United States for talks with U.S. officials. Kirill Dmitriev, Mr. Putin’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation, announced his visit in a post on X. He said it was “planned a while ago” on an invitation “from the U.S. side.”

Mr. Dmitriev will meet with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, a White House official not authorised to discuss the private meeting confirmed on condition of anonymity publicly. The meeting was first reported by Axios.

Mr. Dmitriev has been a key interlocutor in discussions between the Trump administration and the Kremlin on numerous issues, including the Ukraine war and the release of American detainees in Russia.

Mr. Putin’s unbudging stance has exasperated Western leaders.

“He’s rejected the opportunity for talks once again, instead making ludicrous demands for Ukrainian land, which he could not and has not taken by force,” Mr. Starmer said at a news conference alongside Mr. Zelenskyy and several other European leaders. “Of course, that is a complete non-starter.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Mr. Putin’s goals remain unchanged, but he “is running out of money, troops and ideas.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof also attended Friday’s meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” in person. About 20 other leaders joined by video link.

Building a reassurance force’

Ukraine’s Western allies need to resolve some big questions about the future part they will play as Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II heads toward its fourth anniversary.

The uncertainties include how they can help fund war-devastated Ukraine, what postwar security guarantees they might be able to provide, and what Washington’s commitments to future security arrangements might be.

Details of the potential future “reassurance force” are scant, and the London meeting seeks to further develop the idea — even though any peace agreement appears at the moment to be only a distant possibility.

The force is likely to consist of air and naval support rather than Western troops deployed in Ukraine, according to officials. U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey says it would be “a force to help secure the skies, secure the seas, a force to help train Ukrainian forces to defend their nation.”

The war has shown no sign of subsiding, as a front-line war of attrition kills thousands of soldiers on both sides while drone and missile barrages cause damage in rear areas.

Russia says it has captured Ukrainian villages

The Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Friday that over the past week, its forces have captured 10 Ukrainian villages. The small conquests are part of Russia’s slow but steady slog to envelop the remaining Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk region from both the north and the south and create footholds for pressing further west into the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Defense Ministry also said its forces downed 111 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight, with debris causing damage to homes and infrastructure..

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that air defenses downed three drones heading to the city, which forced flights to be suspended at two Moscow airports.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said Russian artillery struck a residential block in the southeastern city of Kherson on Friday, killing two people and injuring 22 others.

Russian planes also dropped at least five powerful glide bombs on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, injuring six people and damaging homes, according to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

And for the first time, Russia fired glide bombs on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region Friday, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, calling it “a new, serious threat” in the area. Glide bombs are significantly cheaper than missiles and carry a heavier payload.

Published – October 25, 2025 06:56 am IST