Category Archives: keir starmer

Keir Starmer Accuses Elon Musk Of ‘Trying To Whip Up Division’ In UK Over Henry Nowak Murder

Posted on by
Reply

Keir Starmer has accused Elon Musk of “trying to whip up division” in the UK over the murder of Henry Nowak.

The billionaire owner of X has made numerous posts on social media in recent days about the teenager’s tragic death.

Henry was stabbed to death by Vickrum Digwa, who then falsely told the police that he had been the victim of racism.

Eighteen-year-old Henry was then arrested and handcuffed by police as he lay dying.

Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years at Southampton Crown Court on Monday.

Musk has offered to fund a private prosecution against Hampshire Police over their conduct, which is now being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

But speaking on a visit to Yorkshire on Thursday, Starmer told Musk to keep out of British politics.

He said: “We need to assert who we are as a country because Musk again has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division. That is not who we are in Britain.

“In Britain we are reasonable, tolerant people. When we have a terrible case like Henry’s case, Henry Nowak, we react calmly as his family has done.”

The PM also backed Labour MP Jess Assato, who is taking legal action against Musk’s xAI after she claimed its Grok tool was used to create fake images of her in a bikini.

Starmer said: “Jess Asato is absolutely right in the action she is taking. Disgusting images were created, in her particular case by Grok.”

In January, the prime minister went to war with X after the Grok bot allowed users to generate sexualised images of women and children.

Last year, Starmer also hit out at Musk’s “dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric” after the billionaire told a far-right rally that “violence is coming” to Britain.

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Share Button

‘He Has The Numbers’: Wes Streeting Allies Insist He Will Run In Labour Leadership Contest

Posted on by
Reply

Wes Streeting will definitely run in the upcoming Labour leadership contest, his allies have told HuffPost UK.

It is the first confirmation that he plans to mount a bid to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Supporters of Starmer have claimed that the former health secretary – who resigned with a ferocious attack on the prime minister yesterday – does not have enough support from Labour MPs to mount a challenge.

Under Labour Party rules, any candidate must have the support of at least 20% of its MPs to make it onto the ballot paper. At the moment, that is 81 MPs.

Starmer allies have claimed that Streeting currently only has 43 names, leaving him well short of the number required.

They said that was why he did not formally trigger a contest when he quit the cabinet, as had been expected.

But a source close to Streeting told HuffPost UK: “He has the numbers and will be a candidate when there’s a contest.”

In his resignation letter, Streeting stopped short of saying he would challenge the PM.

But he said: “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.

“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.”

A leadership contest appears inevitable, despite Starmer insisting he “won’t walk away” from No.10.

Cabinet ministers, including home secretary Shabana Mahmood and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, have personally told the PM to set out a timetable for his departure.

More than 90 Labour MPs have so far publicly called on him to quit, while four junior ministers have also resigned from the government.

Andy Burnham kicked off his own attempt to be the next PM when it was announced that Labour MP Josh Simons is standing down to let the Greater Manchester mayor stand in his Makerfield seat.

Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) is not expected to block Burnham’s bid to be the party’s candidate in the resulting by-election.

However, he faces a huge challenge to see off Reform UK and be elected the new MP for the constituency.

If Burnham wins, he is expected to immediately challenge Starmer, triggering a full leadership contest.

Others who could throw their hats into the ring include former deputy PM Angela Rayner, defence secretary John Healey, energy secretary Ed Miliband, Mahmood, Cooper and junior defence minister Al Carns

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Share Button

Fleeting Streeting: Health Secretary’s Showdown With PM Lasts Barely 15 Minutes

Posted on by
Reply

Labour leadership hopeful Wes Streeting’s big showdown meeting in Downing Street with Keir Starmer lasted barely 15 minutes.

The grim-faced health secretary said nothing to waiting reporters as he left No.10 shortly less than 20 minutes after walking in.

Both the prime minister’s and Streeting’s teams were remaining tight-lipped about the talks as they do not want to overshadow the King’s Speech later this morning.

Streeting had been expected to demand answers from the PM on how he plans to turn around Labour’s fortunes after the party suffered a drubbing in last week’s elections.

The health secretary has made no public comments since Starmer told his cabinet rivals to put up or shut up at their weekly meeting on Tuesday amid mounting speculation he was set to face a leadership challenge.

Starmer said: “The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a cabinet.”

More than 80 Labour MPs have called on the PM to quit, and four of his ministers resigned on Tuesday.

They included junior health minister Zubir Ahmed, a former aide to Streeting.

On Radio 4′s Today programme this morning, he called on cabinet ministers to speak publicly about their true opinions of Starmer.

He said: “I think it’s very telling – just as ministers in the junior ministerial ranks have stepped forward to articulate their dissatisfaction, some of us publicly but more of us privately – that the whole of the cabinet has not, on this occasion, been able to articulate support for the prime minister in the full-throated way that would have perhaps had happen in the past.

“I think there is a responsibility on all of us in parliament and ministerial office to be honest with ourselves and the prime minister at this time.”

Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds, a close ally of the PM, told the same programme that none of Starmer’s rivals have the required amount ofd support from Labour MPs to challenge him.

He said: “The evidence of the last two days is there isn’t an alternative candidate with those 81 names.”

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Share Button

Oddly Prophetic Group Photo Of Starmer On His First Day As An MP Resurfaces

Posted on by
Reply

A photo posted by Keir Starmer almost exactly 11 years ago has stunned political pundits after it was unearthed this week.

The prime minister’s job is hanging by a thread as more than 80 MPs call for him to quit following Labour’s drubbing at the elections in England, Scotland and Wales last week.

Catherine West, a former foreign office minister, helped to galvanise the campaign to push Starmer out.

She offered to be a “stalking horse” candidate in a leadership challenge to the prime minister, meaning she would stand against him just to tempt other rivals out of the blocks.

While her bid ultimately failed – as did her subsequent attempt at a no confidence letter – she helped get the ball rolling this week by encouraging MPs to publicly announce they had lost faith in Starmer.

Meanwhile, health secretary Wes Streeting is thought to be one of the frontrunners in the next potential leadership race.

He has made his ambitions to be the next prime minister clear over several months and many of his allies in the Commons have already urged Starmer to resign.

So social media users were stunned when they found a photo of Starmer, Streeting and West together on their first day in the Commons after winning their seats in the 2015 general election.

The now-prime minister shared an image of himself with West and Streeting along with the caption: “Taking our seats for the 1st time.”

The image attracted a huge amount of interest – with many noting just how cruel a game politics can clearly be…

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="Twitter" data-component-id="1276" data-component-props="{"itemType":"rich","isLiveblogEmbed":false,"index":18,"contentIndexByType":4,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

this is like actually insane imagine showing them the newspaper from nearly exactly 10 years in the future 😭😭😭 https://t.co/YFoKoyeaZf

— autumn 💟 (@ambiguousdesire) May 11, 2026

","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"autumn 💟","author_url":"https://twitter.com/ambiguousdesire","cache_age":86400,"description":"this is like actually insane imagine showing them the newspaper from nearly exactly 10 years in the future 😭😭😭 https://t.co/YFoKoyeaZf— autumn 💟 (@ambiguousdesire) May 11, 2026\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"autumn 💟 on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/ambiguousdesire/status/2053952472150884424","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isMobile":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"6a02d652e4b03c97d693bfcb","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/keir-starmer-wes-streeting-catherine-west_uk_6a02d652e4b03c97d693bfcb","entryTagsList":"labour-party,keir-starmer","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"isShopping":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"16b0ecc6-802c-4120-845f-e90629812c4d","clickToPlayPlayer":"823ac03a-0f7e-4bcb-8521-a5b091ae948d","videoPagePlayer":"05041ada-93f7-4e86-9208-e03a5b19311b","defaultPlaylist":"2e062669-71b4-41df-b17a-df6b1616bc8f"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":3},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"6a02d652e4b03c97d693bfcb","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"labour party","slug":"labour-party","links":{"relativeLink":"news/labour-party","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/labour-party","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/labour-party"},"relegenceId":4172183,"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Labour Party","slug":"labour-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/labour-party/"},{"name":"keir starmer","slug":"keir-starmer","links":{"relativeLink":"news/keir-starmer","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/keir-starmer","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/keir-starmer"},"relegenceId":4156282,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/keir-starmer/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"signInUrl":"https://login.huffpost.com/login?dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fkeir-starmer-wes-streeting-catherine-west_uk_6a02d652e4b03c97d693bfcb%3Fhp_auth_done%3D1","cetUnit":"buzz_body","enableIncontentPlayer":true,"bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0,"midArticleAdPartner":null},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

this is like actually insane imagine showing them the newspaper from nearly exactly 10 years in the future 😭😭😭 https://t.co/YFoKoyeaZf

— autumn 💟 (@ambiguousdesire) May 11, 2026

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="Twitter" data-component-id="9807" data-component-props="{"itemType":"rich","isLiveblogEmbed":false,"index":28,"contentIndexByType":11,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

Marcus Giunius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus with Julius Caesar in 2015. https://t.co/0P28oDv12c

— Filippo Carrettoni 🇪🇺🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇫🇷🇮🇹 (@fillycarre) May 11, 2026

","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Filippo Carrettoni 🇪🇺🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇫🇷🇮🇹","author_url":"https://twitter.com/fillycarre","cache_age":86400,"description":"Marcus Giunius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus with Julius Caesar in 2015. https://t.co/0P28oDv12c— Filippo Carrettoni 🇪🇺🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇫🇷🇮🇹 (@fillycarre) May 11, 2026\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Filippo Carrettoni 🇪🇺🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇫🇷🇮🇹 on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/fillycarre/status/2053960646048248190","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isMobile":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"6a02d652e4b03c97d693bfcb","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/keir-starmer-wes-streeting-catherine-west_uk_6a02d652e4b03c97d693bfcb","entryTagsList":"labour-party,keir-starmer","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"isShopping":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"16b0ecc6-802c-4120-845f-e90629812c4d","clickToPlayPlayer":"823ac03a-0f7e-4bcb-8521-a5b091ae948d","videoPagePlayer":"05041ada-93f7-4e86-9208-e03a5b19311b","defaultPlaylist":"2e062669-71b4-41df-b17a-df6b1616bc8f"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":3},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"6a02d652e4b03c97d693bfcb","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"labour party","slug":"labour-party","links":{"relativeLink":"news/labour-party","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/labour-party","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/labour-party"},"relegenceId":4172183,"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Labour Party","slug":"labour-party","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/labour-party/"},{"name":"keir starmer","slug":"keir-starmer","links":{"relativeLink":"news/keir-starmer","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/keir-starmer","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/keir-starmer"},"relegenceId":4156282,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/keir-starmer/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"signInUrl":"https://login.huffpost.com/login?dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fkeir-starmer-wes-streeting-catherine-west_uk_6a02d652e4b03c97d693bfcb%3Fhp_auth_done%3D1","cetUnit":"buzz_body","enableIncontentPlayer":true,"bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0,"midArticleAdPartner":null},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

Marcus Giunius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus with Julius Caesar in 2015. https://t.co/0P28oDv12c

— Filippo Carrettoni 🇪🇺🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇫🇷🇮🇹 (@fillycarre) May 11, 2026