LONDON (Reuters) - British health minister Wes Streeting resigned from government on Thursday, saying he had lost confidence in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership.
"It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour Unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism," Streeting said in a letter published on X.
"It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this."
Prime Minister Keir Starmer came under renewed pressure when four ministerial aides stepped down and more than 70 Labour lawmakers publicly called for the British prime minister's resignation after his appeal for another chance seemingly fell on deaf ears.
At an address to the party faithful in London, Starmer had made an impassioned plea to both his party and voters to stick with him and avoid a leadership contest he said would only bring chaos, but his speech appeared to do little to stem the tide.
The Times newspaper reported that interior minister Shabana Mahmood and other cabinet ministers had told the prime minister to consider setting out a timeline for his departure as Labour lawmakers went public to express their dissatisfaction over one of the worst defeats for Labour in last week's local elections.
Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper told Starmer that he should oversee an orderly transition of power, according to the Guardian.