Angela Rayner has said she has been cleared of deliberate wrongdoing in an investigation over her tax affairs, paving the way for a potential leadership bid amid uncertainty over Sir Keir Starmer’s future.
As Health Secretary Wes Streeting mulls whether to challenge the Prime Minister, Sir Keir’s former deputy indicated she could run in any race but insisted she would not “trigger” a contest.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned colleagues not to put the economy “at risk” after figures showed gross domestic product grew in the first three months of the year.
Ms Rayner, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne also denied she had done a deal with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, whose path back to Westminster would be complicated by needing to fight and win a by-election.
Asked whether she would enter a contest, she told the Guardian: “I’ll play my part in doing everything we possibly can to deliver the change, because it’s not a personal ambition, I know the difference it makes.”
She said Sir Keir should “reflect on” whether to step aside following a bruising set of local election results that have intensified speculation about his future in No 10, with Labour openly divided over how best to move forward.
Ms Rayner said the Health Secretary, who is believed to have told allies he is preparing to resign on Thursday in a bid for the top job, would need to “justify his actions”.
“I do understand my colleagues and why they’re angry and upset,” she said. “I do understand why we’re having this conversation now, but we need to get through that as quickly as possible.”
The Chancellor, who has avoided commenting publicly on the turmoil engulfing Labour, said the party’s MPs have an “important decision to make” in an intervention outside Downing Street on Thursday.
Addressing reporters gathered outside No 10 after figures showed the UK economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of the year, Ms Reeves said: “Labour MPs have got an important decision to make today, but the numbers show that the economy is growing and that when we entered this (Middle East) conflict, our economy was growing strongly because of the decisions that I have made as chancellor. We shouldn’t put that at risk.”
Asked what her message to Mr Streeting was, she told the BBC that “plunging the country into chaos at a time when there is conflict in the world, but also at a time when our plan to grow the economy is starting to bear fruit” would be a mistake.
Efforts to lever Sir Keir out of Downing Street appeared to stall on Wednesday, with no further ministerial resignations or backbench calls for his resignation as Westminster turned its attention to the King’s Speech.
Labour’s trade union backers had pulled their support for Sir Keir that morning, while Mr Streeting’s team failed to deny claims he was poised to quit.
If he mounts a challenge, Mr Streeting will need the backing of 81 Labour MPs to begin a formal contest.
While some 87 MPs have so far publicly called for Sir Keir’s resignation, they are not united behind a single candidate to replace him.
Other figures regarded as potential challengers include Energy Secretary and former party leader Ed Miliband and armed forces minister Al Carns.
In an article for The New Statesman published on Thursday, former Royal Marines officer Mr Carns said: “We do not need more slogans, strategies, press releases or commissions. We need action.”
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has questioned whether any of the Prime Minister’s rivals can muster the necessary support to launch a contest.
Sir Keir himself is expected to fight any leadership challenge, and spent Wednesday afternoon meeting ministers and Labour MPs as he sought to avert a coup.
On Thursday, he will seek to wrest back control of the political agenda with the introduction of legislation overhauling social housing and the “right to buy”.
Ahead of the introduction of the Social Housing Renewal Bill, intended to boost the supply of council homes, Sir Keir said his Government was “taking responsibility, rebuilding social housing, and delivering the change people voted for”.
Meanwhile, the prospect of a return to Parliament for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham receded as more MPs declared they did not intend to give up their seats to allow him to contest a by-election.
Manchester MPs Afzal Khan and Jeff Smith had been rumoured in Westminster to be willing to make way for Mr Burnham.
But both men expressly denied to the Press Association that they were preparing to stand down.
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