Ex-health secretary’s allies rally to defend him after culture secretary calls his comments about rejoining bloc ‘odd’

A row has broken out at the top of the Labour party over whether Britain should try to rejoin the EU after Wes Streeting said the country should eventually seek to regain membership.

Streeting, who resigned as health secretary last week in protest at Keir Starmer’s leadership, kicked off a war of words after he argued on Saturday that Britain’s future lay back in the EU.

Lisa Nandy says no candidate has launched a challenge to Keir Starmer, despite ‘feverish speculation’ around Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting

The Conservative leader called accusations her party could not win a general election “very silly”.

Trevor Phillips, questioning Kemi Badenoch on Sky, suggested she was “reluctant to accept what the voters have said” in the local election results.

LONDON May 17 — Tens of thousands of people rallied Saturday at a London march organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson and a counter-demonstration fused with a pro-Palestinian protest, as police mounted a huge operation to keep rival attendees apart.

The capital’s Metropolitan Police deployed 4,000 officers – alongside horses, dogs, drones and helicopters – to manage Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” march and the rally marking Nakba Day as well as the FA Cup Final.

Nakba Day commemorates the 1948 displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel. Mustering in west London and ending with speeches near Piccadilly, it combined with an anti-fascism march organised by the Stand Up to Racism group.

The “Unite the Kingdom” march, which started from Holborn in the capital’s heart, culminated with Robinson and other speakers addressing crowds in Parliament Square.

“Immigration’s the main concern,” Christine Turner, 66, from northeast England, told AFP from that event.

“We’re an island. We’ve got a clear border that they’re not protecting. Something needs to be done. It’s gone on too long.”

Attendees – some sporting “Make England Great Again (MEGA)” red caps, others carrying wooden crosses and chanting “Christ is king” – had travelled from far and wide.

“The main aspect that I’m behind is to protect women and children,” British-Polish teenager Amelia Stearn, told AFP after flying in from Poland.

“Illegal immigration is really taking a toll on the country,” she said of the UK.

Heather Booker was among those to turn out at the combined pro-Palestine and Stand Up to Racism event.

“It’s very worrying that there’s a real rise in racism and fascism in Britain and across Europe” she told AFP.

British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, looks on during a rally organised by United The Kingdom, in central London on May 16, 2026. — AFP pic

43 arrests 

The Met were yet to issue attendance estimates but aerial footage broadcast by UK media showed tens of thousands at the Unite the Kingdom rally, which featured a sea of British Union Jack, English St George’s and other flags.

An AFP reporter at the counter-protest estimated only several thousand there.

In a Saturday evening update, police said officers had made 43 arrests at the twin protests, and an additional 22 at the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester City at Wembley.

“Four officers were assaulted today. Fortunately none seriously. A further six officers were subjected to hate crime offences,” the Met said on X.

Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – is a former football hooligan turned anti-Islam activist whose profile has soared in recent years, in particular online.

Last September, he drew up to 150,000 people into central London for a similarly themed rally proclaiming “national unity, free speech and Christian values” – an unprecedented turnout for an event organised by a far-right figure.

He has tapped into growing public anger over tens of thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel each year in small boats, wider immigration policies, alleged free speech curbs and other issues.

X owner Elon Musk addressed the September gathering via video-link. The rally shocked mainstream Britain for its scale and raw messaging, as well as clashes between some participants and police which injured dozens of officers.

‘Hatred and division’ 

The Met had imposed various conditions on Saturday’s two rallies in an effort to avoid confrontations. For the first time organisers were made legally responsible for ensuring invited speakers did not break hate speech laws.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer had warned Friday that “anyone who sets out to wreak havoc on our streets, to intimidate or threaten anyone... can expect to face the full force of the law”.

He accused the organisers of Robinson’s rally of “peddling hatred and division”.

Robinson – who had urged his attendees not to wear masks or drink excessive alcohol, and to be “peaceful and courteous” – told those gathered he was spearheading a “cultural revolution”.

Leading expletive-filled chants decrying Starmer, he urged them to get involved in politics ahead of “the battle of Britain” in 2029, when the next general election is due.

Protesters holding Palestinian flags and placards march along Piccadilly in central London during a ‘Nakba’ demonstration in support of Palestine and against the Far Right, organised by Stop The War coalition on May 16, 2026. — AFP pic

Ahead of the rally the government also blocked 11 “foreign far-right agitators” from entering Britain.

They include US-based “extremist” Valentina Gomez, who the government said is “known for using inflammatory and dehumanising rhetoric about Muslim communities”.

Saturday’s rival demonstrations follow a spate of violent attacks targeting London’s Jewish community. Some have blamed instances of hate speech at pro-Palestinian marches for helping to fuel antisemitism.

The UK’s terrorism threat level was raised two weeks ago to the second-highest level of “severe”, with security officials citing the “broader Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat”. — AFP

LONDON, May 17 — Wes Streeting, who resigned as UK health secretary this week, announced Saturday he will run to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister, after the party suffered disastrous local election results.

Streeting quit the government Thursday with a withering assessment of Starmer’s leadership, but no other senior minister followed suit and the 43-year-old MP did not immediately trigger a leadership contest.

Later that day, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham unveiled a bid to become an MP which, if successful, would allow the 56-year-old from the left of the party to stand in that contest.

While still not announcing he has kickstarted the formal leadership challenge process, Streeting confirmed Saturday he will vie to replace Starmer and become the centre-left Labour’s new leader.

Whoever leads the ruling party, which has a big majority in Britain’s parliament, will by default become prime minister.

“We need a proper contest with the best candidates on the field, and I’ll be standing,” Streeting said in a speech and question-and-answer session at a think tank event in London.

Explaining the lack of a formal contest launch, Streeting – from Labour’s right-wing and long thought to covet the premiership – said he wanted “all of the candidates... on the pitch”.

“If we had rushed ahead without giving Andy a chance to stand, the new leader, whether it was me or anyone else, would lack the legitimacy.”

A Labour party leadership contest can be triggered if 81 of its MPs – 20 per cent of the party in parliament – formally back a candidate to challenge Starmer and submit the necessary paperwork.

Brexit ‘mistake’ 

Starmer, as current leader, would automatically be on the ballot if he wants to defend the challenge.

Labour members and affiliates then get to vote, not just MPs. They rank candidates in order of preference and a contender needs 50 per cent to win.

Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) – which selects the party’s candidates in parliamentary seat elections – said Friday it had permitted Burnham “to stand in the candidate selection process” in the by-election in Makerfield, northwest England.

That contest is expected in mid-June at the earliest, meaning any formal leadership challenge is likely to be triggered afterwards.

The political jockeying follows dismal results for Labour in local and regional elections held last week, which have prompted several junior ministers and dozens of the party’s MPs to demand Starmer to step down.

But the beleaguered 63-year UK leader appears to have been granted a stay of execution, of sorts, while Burnham’s fate is decided in the Makerfield by-election.

Burnham told British media Saturday he was prepared to “fight to the highest level”.

Meanwhile it appears Streeting, who delivered a wide-ranging speech at the think tank event, has kicked off a leadership campaign in all but name.

Setting out a fledgling policy platform, he said Brexit was “a catastrophic mistake” and that Britain must pursue a “new special relationship” with the European Union.

He signalled he wanted to see the country rejoin the trade bloc in the future. — AFP

Ex-health secretary sets out fledgling policy platform – including call for new special relationship with EU

Wes Streeting has called for a “proper contest” to replace Keir Starmer and confirmed he would stand if the race is triggered.

In his first public appearance since resigning as health secretary, Streeting set out a fledgling policy platform for a run at the Labour leadership. He said Britain must pursue a “new special relationship” with the European Union and signalled he wanted to see the country rejoin the trade bloc in the future.

Week of leadership jostling has left Keir Starmer looking vulnerable and short of time – even though no challenger has officially come forward

It was a minute or so into his BBC interview on Friday morning, after being asked about “moves” to remove Keir Starmer, that Steve Reed ran out of patience. “There is no contest,” he interrupted. “‘Moves’ mean nothing. People need 81 nominations to stand against the prime minister.”

The housing secretary, a close ally of Starmer and a founding member of the Labour Together thinktank that catapulted him to power, was right, of course: no one has formally challenged the prime minister, let alone ousted him.

As Keir Starmer endures a slow ousting as PM, former Labour leader Corbyn recalls his own expulsion and looks at the runners and riders

“Yeah, I do feel [sorry for him],” said Jeremy Corbyn, with only a little hesitation. “On a personal level it must be devastating. It is a horrible feeling. You suddenly realise that this person doesn’t trust you at all and really doesn’t wish you well at all, and you suddenly realise that any trust that was there actually disappears.”

There are few in politics who have had the experience of being the subject of a Labour party-style coup, the British equivalent of being dragged from your office to be put up against a wall. Letters of resignations from so-called political friends, condemnatory statements on social media, all dripped out for maximum effect with the end goal of pushing the target, once the subject of standing ovations and gushing plaudits, out on their tail.