Wes Streeting caused a major headache for the Prime Minister after No10 insiders started briefing against his highly-regarded Health Secretary
Sir ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ has been left squirming in the House of Commons after Kemi Badenoch warned Labour is teetering towards a โcivil warโ following last nightโs No10 briefings against Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
In a fiery exchange, Mrs Badenoch asked if Mr Streeting was right when he said there was a โtoxic culture in Downing Street that needs to changeโ.
๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ replied: โMy focus each and every day is on rebuilding and renewing our country. But let me be absolutely clear, any attack on any member of my cabinet is completely unacceptable.โ
The Prime Minister was visibly uncomfortable as he was forced to put up an even firmer defence for his Health Secretary.
โHeโs doing a great job, as is the whole of my Cabinet,โ ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ said.
Putting pressure on the Prime Minister, Mrs Badenoch then asked: โJust last night, [๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณโs] allies accused not just the Health Secretary but the Home Secretary and even the Energy Secretary of launching leadership bids.
โThese ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ด came from No10, nowhere else, his toxic Number 10. The person responsible for the culture in No10 is his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney. Does the Prime Minister have full confidence in him?โ
๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ replied: โMorgan McSweeney, my team and I are absolutely focused on delivering for the country.
๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ left squirming at PMQs as No10 ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ด on Cabinet Minister plunge premiership into crisis
โLet me be clear, of course, Iโve never authorised ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ด on Cabinet members, I appointed them to their post because theyโre the best people to carry out their jobs.โ
๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ was put under even more pressure when Mrs Badenoch asked if the Prime Minister had lost control of No10.
The Leader of the Opposition said: โ[๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ] says these ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ด arenโt authorised. That means heโs lost control of Number 10, because thatโs where theyโre coming from.
โThe real scandal is that two weeks from a budget, the Government has descended into a civil war, instead of fixing the economy the mess theyโve made of the economy.โ
The House of Commons burst into laughter when the Prime Minister claimed Labour was a โunited teamโ.
Speaking through a cacophony of noise, ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ added: โThe fastest growth in the G7, five interest rate cuts, trade deals with the EU, the US and India. All of which weโve delivered.โ
In an update to MPs, ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ continued: โThe Bank of England has upgraded growth today, weโve secured ยฃ230 billion of private investment.โ
Rumours started swirling around Westminster last night after the Prime Ministerโs allies started briefing against Mr Streeting.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had also been earmarked as potential leadership challengers, with former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner named as โkingmakerโ.
Dismissing speculation this morning, Mr Streeting said: Someone has definitely been watching too much Celebrity Traitors in Downing Street, they should swap it for CountryFile in future and calm down a bit.
โIโm a Faithful, what you have seen from a silly No10 source overnight is probably the worst attack on a Faithful since Joe Marler was banished in the Traitorsโ final.โ
The Health Secretary also slammed No10 as having a โtoxicโ culture.
โI do think that going out and calling your Labour MPs feral is not very helpful,โ the Ilford North MP added.
โTrying to kneecap one of your own team when they are out not just making the case for the Government but actually delivering the change that we promised, I think that is also self-defeating and self-destructive behaviour.
โI also think whoever did this does not speak for the Prime Minister.โ
Mr Streeting also put pressure on the Prime Minister to sack his rumour-rousing allies.
PMQs was particularly testy this week
No10 insiders had claimed Mr Streeting and other potential leadership contenders had been plotting to stage a coup as early as November 26, when Rachel Reeves will unveil her tax-hiking Budget.
๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ was said to have entered โfull bunker modeโ amid fears the Prime Ministerโs days could be numbered ahead of next Mayโs Local Elections.
The Prime Ministerโs supporters even suggested ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ is โalready fighting the leadership electionโ with outreach to Labour backbenchers.
Despite speculation of a challenge in May, Labour rules remain far more stringent than those adopted by the Conservative Party, making it more of a challenge for the parliamentary party to topple ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ.
However, 80 MPs could initiate a Labour leadership election.
Candidates must secure the backing of major trade unions or constituency parties before a vote goes to Labourโs declining grassroots membership base.
Jeremy Corbyn faced a similar test in the wake of the Brexit referendum in 2016 when he lost a confidence vote by 172 votes to 40.
After refusing to resign, the now-disgraced former Labour leader won the subsequent membership vote in a landslide.
An ally of the Prime Minister told The Times: โKeir knows he is already fighting a leadership contest. When it comes, he wonโt resign. He will fight it. He thinks itโs fantasy politics.โ
While parliamentary pressure forced Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss out of No10, no Labour leader has been successfully ousted from office mid-term.