Sir Keir Starmer risks looking weaker than Tory counterpart Kemi Badenoch if he refuses to sack his Health Secretary, Olivia Utley told GB News.
The prenter added Wes Streeting can “rally the troops” against the Prime Minister amid simmering tensions between the Labour top dogs in a rumoured fight for No10.
Armed with party support and a natural flair for the media, GB News’ Political Correspondent said the Health Secretary poses a substantial threat to Sir Keir.
Sir Keir has been goaded by allies to sack Mr Streeting as the Ilford North MP becomes increasingly brazen in his media appearances.
When questioned on Labour’s 13th climbdown over a mandatory digital ID, he said: “This excuses culture does the centre-left no favours.
“If we tell the public that we can’t make anything work, then why on earth would they vote to keep us in charge?”
Breaking from collective responsibility, Olivia commented it was “really unusual behaviour” from a Cabinet minister, who are all expected to present a front of unity.
She continued: “We also had him saying that his New Year’s resolution was for the Government to get things right first time.
Olivia said Mr Streeting’s charm and charisma online could draw support for a leadership bid
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“Well, that obviously sounds like a dig at Keir Starmer’s many U-turns over the past few months.
“So you’ve got now the allies of Keir Starmer grouping around him and saying this isn’t this isn’t good enough. But then you have some people going a step further and saying that actually Keir Starmer should get rid of Wes Streeting.”
She claimed the bid could risk Sir Keir appearing weaker than Kemi Badenoch, who was willing to expel her former leadership rival and Shadow Justice Secretary from the Tories altogether which she later described as “spring cleaning”.
“Plus, if you then put Wes Streeting on the backbenches, well then it’s open warfare, isn’t it?” presenter Stephen Dixon added.
Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer do not perform as well when faced with the media,
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“Exactly,” Olivia concurred. “What could Wes Streeting do from the backbenches?
“Everyone agrees that he is a very good, very relaxed media performer, something which can’t really be said of either Keir Starmer or Rachel Reeves.
“He would also bring bring lots of people with him. I think one detail, which I thought was very interesting at a speech earlier in the week, he said that although he considers himself a militant moderate, he’s basically on the right of the Labour Party, a sort of Blairite.
“He said that he would always stand up for socialist values. So it looks as though he’s trying to woo some of those former Jeremy Corbyn supporters and rehabilitate himself in their minds.
“Now, if that isn’t a play for the leadership, I don’t know what is.”
Mrs Badenoch has been hailed as a “strong and decisive” leader by her Shadow Cabinet colleagues after firing the ex-Tory Minister catapulting him to the backbenches over his plot to join Reform UK.
The Tory leader hailed Thursday as a “good day” for her party, adding Mr Jenrick had now become “Nigel Farage’s problem”.
However, Sir Keir is yet to perform such a brutal takedown of Mr Streeting.
