Keir Starmer LIVE: Rachel Reeves sends ‘chaos’ warning to Wes Streeting

The Commons Leader has given his backing to the Prime Minister, insisting Sir Keir Starmer is “getting on with the job of governing”.

Sir Alan Campbell’s comments came after Jesse Norman, the Conservative shadow Commons leader, said there was “Westminster madness”, with “nearly 100” Labour members calling for the Prime Minister to set a public timetable for his departure.

Responding at Business Questions in the Commons on Thursday, Sir Alan said: “I would encourage him to stop doomscrolling.

“The Prime Minister and the Government are getting on with the job of governing, and this King’s Speech is spreading opportunity and building a fairer Britain.”

Rap megastar Nicki Minaj paid a huge compliment to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch as a video clip of Kemi skewering Labour leadership hopeful Wes Streeting went viral worldwide.

Mrs Badenoch had Conservative MPs in stitches as she brutally mocked Mr Streeting in the House of Commons - and then gave him a contemptous “side-eye” look as he sat silently with a chastened look on his face.

Ms Minaj, a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter dubbed the Queen of Rap, who has sold more than 100 million records, shared the clip. And she said: “The UK is truly one of a kind. They will portray her in film & TV one day…just like they did with Margaret Thatcher.”

In the clip, Mrs Badenoch tells the Mr Streeting: “I suppose the Health Secretary has been a bit distracted lately, hasn’t he?

“He’s chuntering now. Why don’t you just do your job?

“There is no point in him giving me dirty looks; we all know what he has been up to.”

Sir Mel Stride said the Prime Minister has shown himself to be someone “who’s really weak” with “no backbone and no authority”.

The shadow chancellor told the Press Association outside Parliament: “I think it’s very bad for the country that we’re seeing all this chaos and introspection within the Labour Party.

“I think whatever happens – whether it’s the Prime Minister surviving or somebody else taking over – unfortunately we can’t get away from a couple of inconvenient facts: one is that this Government has absolutely no plan, particularly on how to deal with the economy, and I don’t see that changing going forward.

“The second thing is that we see complete disarray amongst Labour backbenchers and a party in Parliament that’s incapable of taking the kind of tough decisions – like getting on top of the welfare bill, getting people back to work – that are required if we’re getting to a better place.”

He declined to say who he thought would be the frontrunner in a potential leadership challenge, saying: “These are matters for the Labour Party internally.”

Sir Mel added: “What we can’t get away from is we’re in a period of absolute chaos when our country is facing into some of the biggest challenges that it has faced in many years: of war in the Middle East, spiking oil prices, inflationary pressures, and yet we’ve got all of this noise… going on in Government, and we really need to get this settled down now.

“It’s down to the Prime Minister to try and do that but at the moment he’s shown himself as somebody who’s really weak and no backbone and no authority.”

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the 0.6% rise in GDP between January and March could be the result of “depressed confidence and spending” in the lead up to the budget.

He told the Press Association outside Parliament: “Any economic growth, of course, is welcome.

“The ONS (Office for National Statistics) who produced these figures have also pointed out that some of this may be due to the rather depressed spending at the tail end of last year as a direct reaction to the mismanagement of the run up to the budget, where the Government was floating all sorts of possible taxes which depressed confidence and spending – so we may have been just seeing a shift of growth in that sense.

“But we can’t get away from the fact that if you look at the picture overall, growth in our country has been far too sluggish – the IMF (International Monetary Fund), for example, have downgraded their growth forecast for this year, actually halving the rate of growth that they’re expecting.”

Defence minister Al Carns will throw his name into the hat to become the next Prime Minister, it has been claimed.

A source has told Times Defence Editor Larisa Brown ‘he is getting on with doing his job, but if someone fires the starting gun, he isn’t afraid of gunfire’.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said he hoped Wes Streeting would still be Health Secretary by the end of Thursday.

Asked whether Mr Streeting was still in post, amid speculation that he will quit, Mr Murray told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He is the Health Secretary, and I hope he is the Health Secretary by the end of the day.”

Mr Murray also warned against a leadership contest, saying: “I would say to all colleagues, take a deep breath. Take a step back.

“Make sure that we recognise we’re less than two years into this Parliament. Look at what we’ve done so far. Look at the benefits of the stability that we brought to Government, make sure that we don’t go into a chaotic process of uncertainty, and make sure we focus on what people want us to be doing.”

The Prime Minister’s Chief Secretary Darren Jones has arrived in Downing Street, where he did not stop to answer questions from reporters before heading in to No 10.

Angela Rayner said: "I welcome HMRC’s conclusion, which has cleared me of any wrongdoing. I have been exonerated by HMRC of the accusation that I deliberately sought to avoid tax.

"When purchasing a home of my own with a mortgage, I did not own any other property and had no personal financial interest in the court-instructed trust set up to manage my son’s financial award. I was advised by experts that I should pay stamp duty at the standard rate. I set out to pay the correct amount of tax. I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC has accepted this. I have always sought to act with integrity, and I believe politicians should be held to high standards - that is why I resigned from government and cooperated fully with HMRC.

"I wanted to ensure that I paid every penny that I owed, and have done so. I am relieved that my family can now move on - and that I can get on with my job."

Labour’s trade union backers have pulled their support for Sir Keir Starmer.

If he mounts a challenge, Mr Streeting will need the backing of 81 Labour MPs to begin a formal contest.

While some 87 MPs have so far publicly called for Sir Keir’s resignation, they are not united behind a single candidate to replace him.

Other figures regarded as potential challengers include Energy Secretary and former party leader Ed Miliband and armed forces minister Al Carns.

The Treasury's chief secretary James Murray did not say Wes Streeting would be Health Secretary by the end of the day.

Mr Murray told LBC: "He's been doing an important job. Decisions about roles are not for me to make."

When asked about Angela Rayner’s case, HMRC said: “We cannot comment on individuals due to taxpayer confidentiality law.”

Ms Rayner has said she has been cleared of deliberate wrongdoing in an investigation over her tax affairs, paving the way for a potential leadership bid amid uncertainty over Sir Keir Starmer’s future.

The Chancellor told reporters she would set out plans to support families and businesses struggling with the impact of war in the Middle East next week.

Rachel Reeves said: “Very strong numbers today that show that the economy grew strongly in the first quarter of this year, showing decisively that this plan is the right one to get our economy growing in all parts of the country.

“And it shows that when this conflict in the Middle East started, our economy was growing strongly. This was not a war that we started. It is not a war that we have joined, and it’s not one that this Government agrees with.

“But today’s number shows that when that conflict began, our economy was growing strongly. And because of today’s numbers and the growth that we’ve seen in the economy, next week I will be able to set out more plans to support families and businesses with the challenges that have come from this conflict in the Middle East.

“I look forward to setting those out next week.”

The UK economy has recorded the strongest quarterly growth in a year over the first three months of 2026 with a surprise spurt in activity after the Iran war began, figures show.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.6% between January and March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

This was higher than the 0.5% growth that most economists had been expecting, and marks the highest since the first quarter of 2025.

Sir Mel Stride MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “The chaos surrounding the Labour leadership is destabilising Britain’s economy.

“This week, borrowing costs hit their highest level in thirty years as Labour leadership contenders competed to promise even more spending, borrowing and fantasy economics.

“Only the Conservatives have a serious plan to Get Britain Working Again and to fix the public finances through our Golden Economic Rule.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour MPs had an “important decision to make” as she spoke to reporters in Downing Street.

Asked if she was worried about the impact of a potential leadership race on the economic policies she has been working on these past few years, she said: “Labour MPs have got an important decision to make today, but the numbers show that the economy is growing and that when we entered this conflict, our economy was growing strongly because of the decisions that I have made as chancellor, we shouldn’t put that at risk.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has arrived at No10.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said Sir Keir Starmer could win a future Labour leadership contest.

Asked whether he believed the Prime Minister would survive and fight a leadership election, he told Times Radio: “Yes.”

Asked whether Sir Keir would stand in any contest, Mr Murray said: “He’s said that, he said that on Monday in response to a question after his speech on Monday that he would if there were one.

“But I repeat my earlier point, I think having a leadership election would be the wrong choice for us to take.”

Angela Rayner said she was “relieved” she could “get on with my job” after HMRC cleared her of deliberate wrongdoing in an investigation over her tax affairs.

In a statement, the former deputy leader said:” I welcome HMRC’s conclusion, which has cleared me of any wrongdoing. I have been exonerated by HMRC of the accusation that I deliberately sought to avoid tax.

“When purchasing a home of my own with a mortgage, I did not own any other property and had no personal financial interest in the court-instructed trust set up to manage my son’s financial award. I was advised by experts that I should pay stamp duty at the standard rate. I set out to pay the correct amount of tax. I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC has accepted this.

“I have always sought to act with integrity, and I believe politicians should be held to high standards – that is why I resigned from Government and co-operated fully with HMRC. I wanted to ensure that I paid every penny that I owed, and have done so. I am relieved that my family can now move on – and that I can get on with my job.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is believed to have told allies he is preparing to resign on Thursday and announce a bid for the top job after Labour descended into open division at the start of the week.

Efforts to lever Sir Keir Starmer out of Downing Street appeared to stall on Wednesday, with no further ministerial resignations or backbench calls for his resignation as Westminster turned its attention to the King’s Speech.

Labour’s trade union backers had pulled their support for Sir Keir that morning, while Mr Streeting’s team failed to deny claims he was poised to quit.

If he mounts a challenge, Mr Streeting will need the backing of 81 Labour MPs to begin a formal contest.

While some 87 MPs have so far publicly called for Sir Keir’s resignation, they are not united behind a single candidate to replace him.

Other figures regarded as potential challengers include Energy Secretary and former party leader Ed Miliband and armed forces minister Al Carns.w

Angela Rayner has said that she has been cleared of any tax misconduct by HMRC, paving the way for a potential leadership bid. The former Deputy Prime Minister stood down from the role last year amid an investigation into her tax affairs after she accrued £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty.