Britain.. New minister prepares to resign Starmer government

Following the resignation of 4 state ministers in the British government headed by Keir Starmer amid calls for his stepping down by dozens of lawmakers, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is preparing to submit his resignation and may leave his post as early as tomorrow, Thursday, according to "The Times" on Wednesday. It is likely he will run for the Labour Party leadership. Streeting held a brief meeting with the Prime Minister today ahead of King Charles III's speech, according to allies of the minister who said he clarified his intention to proceed with this candidacy. Starmer had confirmed to his ministers at Downing Street on Tuesday that "the British people expect the government to continue governing." He added: "This is what I am doing.. and this is what we must do as a government," according to a government statement. He also added, responding to calls for his resignation, that "the Labour Party has a mechanism to deal with a leadership challenge, and this mechanism has not yet been activated." Calls for Starmer to resign came following reports regarding the appointment of former Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, despite his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to AFP. It also followed the resounding loss suffered by the Labour Party in local elections. More than 80 out of 403 Labour MPs in Parliament called on Starmer to resign immediately or set a timetable for his resignation so the party could install a new leader in an orderly manner. Furthermore, informed sources mentioned that senior ministers, including Deputy PM David Lammy and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, spoke with Starmer about his position. On Monday evening, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood became the highest-ranking government figure to advise Starmer to reconsider his position. In contrast, the Prime Minister reiterated his refusal to resign, pledging to continue fighting and prove skeptics wrong even within the Labour Party, which suffered a painful loss in the recent elections. The spark of this political crisis was ignited following local council elections held in Britain on May 7, which caused the Labour Party to lose control of the Welsh Parliament for the first time in its history. The party also lost 1,400 seats in various English legislative bodies compared to before. Starmer acknowledged responsibility for the electoral defeat but refused to resign.