Starmer latest: Wes Streeting to visit PM for No 10 showdown over Labour division ahead of King’s Speech – UK Times

King Charles is set to lead a centuries-old tradition in parliament on Wednesday and deliver the King’s Speech in the House of Lords.

But following Keir Starmer’s leadership crisis, Buckingham Palace privately asked whether King Charles should proceed as planned.

It has been reported that the king’s team outlined to Starmer’s officials that the King should be kept out of the political crisis and not be used for political ends.

“The Palace view is ‘we do not want to be any part of this conversation — do not bring us into it,’” said one of the people familiar with the matter, according to Politico.

The King has been pleased to approve the following appointments:

• Nesil Caliskan MP as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Natalie Fleet MP as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Home Office
• Catherine Atkinson MP as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice
• Preet Kaur Gill MP as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Health and Social Care
• Gen Kitchen MP as Comptroller of HM Household (Government Whip)
• Deirdre Costigan MP as Junior Lord of the Treasury (Government Whip)
• Shaun Davies MP as Assistant Whip, House of Commons

Labour MP Rupa Huq has denied signing a letter in support of the Prime Minister and said she was “surprised” to see her name on the list.

More than 100 MPs were listed on the letter, which said it is “no time for a leadership contest”, including Ms Huq, the MP for Ealing Central and Acton.

In a post on X, she said: “Surprised to see my name on this list when I haven’t either signed any letter supporting the PM or called for the PM to go??

“Not very courteous of colleagues to put names down without their approval.”

The approval ratings for Sir Keir Starmer’s government are sitting at just 14 per cent, new data shows.

Polling from YouGov suggests a disapproval rating of 70 per cent, up six per cent from last week’s survey.

Health secretary Wes Streeting is set to hold talks with the prime minister tomorrow morning, after more than 100 MPs have joined calls for Keir Starmer to quit.

He is expected to ask Starmer how he plans to “get us out of this mess” and talk about the “turbulence” that is gripping the Labour Party, The Times has reported.

Catherine West has called for “real politicians” to stand up and call for Sir Keir Starmer to resign amid intensifying demands for him to step down.

Ms West was the first Labour MP to call for the prime minister’s resignation following the local elections said there should be “no more hand-holding”.

She had announced she would launch a leadership challenge on Saturday before eventually backing down.

“No more hand-holding. It’s the moment,” she told the BBC on Tuesday.

Although she did not elaborate on who the “real politicians” were, it is thought that she was referring to Cabinet members, including six who had been expected to demand Sir Keir’s resignation this morning.

For all the health secretary’s achievements with the NHS, his centrist instincts and peerless communication skills, the odds are stacked against him replacing Keir Starmer in No 10 , says John Rentoul.