Directly challenging Kire Starmer, Britain’s former Health Minister, Wes Stretching opens the succession race in the Labour party by announcing his candidacy.
“We need a real succession race with the best candidates in the field and I will be the candidate,” Wes Streting told a conference of the Labour Progress supporters group. Wes Streting said earlier today that he would contest the Labour leadership against Prime Minister Kir Stirmer in the event of an internal party contest, days after he resigned asking Kir Stirmer to set a timetable for his departure.
This is the first Labour party nomination, coming in the wake of the party’s heavy defeat in the local elections to the far-right party of Nigel Farage.
Although he did not specify whether he had the required number of signatures to stand, Wes Streting was quick to say: “I have support within the parliamentary group, but this week we had a choice.”
In high tones, Wes Streting argued that the Labour party “could have brought forward an internal party contest, but doing so “without giving Andy the opportunity to stand would mean that the new leader would lack legitimacy, which would ultimately prolong instability and uncertainty“.
He even said he considered himself “quite capable” of “the top job”. He noted, in fact, that “he should be prepared to test his ideas against his opponents.”
“Some values-loyal and courageous ministers resigned from the government this week because private messages conveyed to the prime minister about the loss of confidence are not being listened to,” said Wes Streting. “Not everyone supports me, but I honour them all,” he added.
Wes Streting also said that “this week he had one more choice: either he (Kir Starmers) could withdraw more ministers from the government and cause more turmoil, or he could do it the right way. He even asked Britain’s prime minister “to set a clear timetable for succession.”
“This would give his ministers the freedom to nominate whoever they want as leader of our party and prime minister of the country,” Wes Streting pointed out, to conclude by saying: “I think that’s what he still has to do.”
