Streeting “Coronation” Talk Hardens — Ten-Week Timetable, Bargaining Begins
Senior allies of Wes Streeting say he is likely to abandon his Labour leadership bid and fall in behind Andy Burnham if the Greater Manchester mayor wins Makerfield. One Streeting ally: “The consensus among the team is that if Andy wins Makerfield, it turns to bargaining for the best possible secretary of state position. If he loses, that’s a different matter.” Those closest to Streeting are pushing a “ten-week timetable” — a four-week by-election campaign followed by a six-week Labour leadership contest. Allies of Defence Minister Al Carns — the Selly Oak armed forces minister with the long military CV — have separately said they expect him to stand as a third leadership candidate if a contest is triggered.
Another senior Streeting ally said: “I don’t think it’s clear cut. If Andy wins the by-election it’s obviously a real success. But where he stands on a whole range of issues is unknown and there’s clearly a case for having a good open process where we figure out.” The 81-MP threshold is the structural gatekeeper for any third candidate — Burnham and Streeting’s teams have both claimed in recent days to have the 81 numbers; neither has demonstrated them publicly. Streeting himself has said publicly he had “no regrets” about resigning from government and backed Burnham in the Makerfield by-election: “We need our best players on the pitch.” Carns’s New Statesman article “How Labour can win again” argued “too many people in this country work hard and still struggle” — framing potentially competitive with both Burnham and Streeting.