PM Starmer faces leadership battle – and with it, the battle of Brexit

The United Kingdom’s governing Labour Party is facing a new leadership challenge.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is moving closer to a possible Labour leadership challenge after being cleared to stand for the candidate selection process. Wes Streeting resigned from cabinet as Health Secretary on 14 May, stating it would be “dishonourable and unprincipled” to remain, and that he had “lost confidence” in the prime minister. He has confirmed he will stand if a formal leadership contest is triggered.

Starmer has stated he intends to contest any leadership challenge, and at the time of publication, the prime minister’s office has not commented on the speculation.

Most notably, both men have opened a significant new fault line over Britain’s relationship with the European Union. Speaking at the Progress think tank’s conference in London, Streeting described Brexit as a “catastrophic mistake” and called for “a new special relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future lies with Europe — and one day back in the European Union.” The remarks were widely interpreted as an attempt to appeal to Labour’s membership, among whom polling suggests around 65 per cent support a commitment to rejoining the EU in the party’s next manifesto.

Burnham has previously said he hoped to see Britain rejoin the bloc “in his lifetime,” but sought to avoid the question directly in the context of the Makerfield contest, saying he was “not advocating that in this by-election.” The constituency, on the edge of Greater Manchester, voted Leave in the 2016 referendum.

Nigel Farage has signalled that Reform UK will make “Brexit betrayal” a central theme of its Makerfield campaign, accusing Burnham of planning to “say one thing to Labour voters in the constituency while telling Labour MPs something entirely different.”

Within Westminster, opinion among Labour MPs remains divided. As of 13 May, more than 110 Labour MPs had signed a letter urging party unity and cautioning that it was “no time for a leadership contest,” though some MPs alleged their names had been added without their consent. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy urged colleagues to “take a breath,” while Housing Secretary Steve Reed acknowledged publicly that Starmer was “unpopular” and called on the party to put “country first, party second”.

The return of Brexit into the narrative has already sent media coverage into a frenzy, dividing sharply along readership’s voting lines.  

Unless otherwise linked, headlines are front pages on 18/05/2026