Wes Streeting's hopes of becoming the next Labour Prime Minister suffered a significant setback on Monday evening as a poll of party members roundly rejected his leadership ambitions.
A majority of Labour members believe Mr Streeting was wrong to resign as Health Secretary last week in an attempt to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, with almost six in ten thinking he made a mistake. Nearly seven in ten members would even root for Sir Keir to defeat Mr Streeting in a leadership contest, according to pollsters YouGov, despite nearly 100 MPs calling for the Prime Minister's resignation after Labour suffered heavy losses in the local elections.
Only 15 percent of those surveyed said they would back the challenger. Mr Streeting confirmed last week his intention to oppose Sir Keir, criticising the PM for lacking 'vision', yet he failed to formally trigger a leadership bid, with critics suggesting he had not gathered enough support to do so.
The polling also reveals that the MP for Ilford North would likely be heavily defeated in a leadership contest by Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, and Ed Miliband. However, there was better news for Andy Burnham in his quest to succeed Sir Keir, with 47 percent of party members ranking the Greater Manchester Mayor as their first choice, compared to 31 percent for the current occupant of Number 10. In a direct contest between the two, nearly six in ten Labour members would back Mr Burnham against Sir Keir, with just 37 percent saying they would vote to keep Sir Keir in place.
The poll, which surveyed 706 Labour members, is the first since Mr Streeting resigned and set the leadership race in motion last Thursday. Mr Burnham is preparing to compete in a dramatic by-election that could see him return to Westminster to challenge Sir Keir for the leadership. However, more than six in ten Labour members think the PM should stand down before the next general election regardless.
Even if Mr Burnham were to lose the battle for the Makerfield seat next month, the polling reveals that Labour members have similarly positive views of others who may eventually throw their hats into the ring to challenge Sir Keir. Nearly three-quarters of Labour members have a favourable view of Mr Burnham, 80 percent of Ms Rayner, 77 percent of Mr Miliband, and 73 percent of Yvette Cooper.
While two-thirds of party members believe Sir Keir has done a good job as Prime Minister, just over a quarter think Labour is likely to win in 2029 if he remains as leader. In contrast, 74 percent think the party is likely to win the next general election if Mr Burnham takes the Labour crown. Revealing the depth of positive feeling for the so-called 'King in the North', Labour members are less optimistic about the party's fortunes under Ms Rayner, Ms Cooper, Mr Miliband, and Mr Streeting.
Under Labour's rules, a leader can be challenged if at least 20 percent of the party's MPs (80) nominate a single candidate to succeed him. Labour members then vote for their preferred candidate using a ranking system.
