Possible contenders if UK PM Starmer quits

London, May 12, 2026 (AFP)
As pressure grows on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to stand down, discussion centres on his potential successor as leader of the ruling Labour party.
The winner of any leadership race will be decided by the party's members, not the general public. None of the possible candidates is universally popular in the party, however.
- Wes Streeting -
The 43-year-old health minister has long been rumoured as a possible contender and many MPs urging Starmer to leave are his supporters.
Streeting, whose full name is Wesley, was one of the most visible Labour figures during the 2024 election campaign and hailed as one of its best communicators.
Seen as on the right of the Labour party, he has praised former prime minister Tony Blair and spoken of his desire to lead the party.
He comes from a working-class background in east London. Both his parents were teenagers when he was born. He grew up in a flat on a municipal housing estate he has described as "grim" and attended state school.
He has talked about his grandfather being an armed robber who knew notorious London gangsters the Kray Brothers.
After studying at the University of Cambridge, he was elected an MP in 2015. As health minister he has criticised striking medics.
He is openly gay, his partner is a communications adviser.
In a potentially damaging connection, Streeting initially defended Labour grandee Peter Mandelson when he was sacked as US ambassador over his association with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Streeting has denied being close friends with Mandelson.
- Angela Rayner -
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is well-liked among Labour's left-wing base and known for her straight-talking style.
She issued a warning to Starmer prior to a crucial speech on Monday that many commentators said was underwhelming.
The Guardian cited supporters as saying she was not set on being a candidate, but prepared for the possibility of a leadership run.
The 46-year-old is an outlier in a country long dominated by a ruling class disproportionately educated at private schools and Oxford and Cambridge universities.
She grew up in social housing in northern England, left school without a degree and became a single mother at 16.
A trade unionist before being elected to parliament in 2015, she was elected as Labour's number two in 2020.
YouGov polling agency ranked her the second most popular Labour politician after regional mayor Andy Burnham, also a potential challenger.
An outstanding case over her tax affairs, which triggered her resignation last year, could hamper her chances, however.
Rayner has three children. One of her sons has a serious disability.
- Andy Burnham -
Popular regional mayor Andy Burnham has also long been seen as a potential rival to Starmer, although he has twice unsuccessfully stood for leader.
The long-standing Labour politician, seen as representing its "soft left", became an MP in 2001.
He served a stint as minister for health under Gordon Brown before leaving parliament in 2017 to become mayor of Greater Manchester in northern England, where he has gained the nickname "king of the North".
The 56-year-old has twice been re-elected mayor, most recently in 2024 and has said that he does not identify as a Westminster insider.
Burnham grew up in northern England and joined the Labour Party as a teenager before studying at the University of Cambridge.
While an MP, he lost leadership races against Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.
He has openly opposed Starmer over welfare cuts and warned of a "climate of fear" in the party.
Burnham could not immediately become leader because he would first need to become an MP by winning a by-election.
The Labour party in January blocked Burnham from standing in an upcoming by-election, after he wrote about wanting to do so on X.
Burnham has a Dutch-born wife and three children and told Huffington Post that he is "Catholic by upbringing" but "not particularly religious now".
- Other possibilities -
With a wide field of possible candidates, other potential choices could be existing ministers, who could take on the leadership as a "caretaker" role.
Those under discussion include foreign minister Yvette Cooper, defence minister John Healey, energy minister Ed Miliband and a junior armed forces minister Al Carns.
Miliband served as leader of the Labour Party in opposition after standing in a race against his own brother, David. He resigned after the party suffered a severe defeat in the 2015 election.
An MP since 1997, Cooper, 57, has served as a minister under Starmer and Brown.
Like Cooper an MP since 1997, Healey, 57, became defence minister under Starmer.
Carns, a 46-year-old former commando, became an MP in 2024. The Independent wrote he is seen by some MPs "as a leftfield candidate".

Sumber : AFP