Angela Rayner: Cleared of Wrongdoing.

Sir Keir Starmer once described Angela Rayner as "John Prescott in a skirt". Ms. Rayner is seen as on the left of the party. She is certainly the personification of the trope, the "fiery redhead". Angela is as Mancunian as they come. Her swagger and attitude resemble those of another well-known Mancunian: Liam Gallagher. She is outspoken and not afraid to challenge those whom she sees as wrongdoers or hypocrites. When Sir Keir became Prime Minister, she was there at his side, serving as Deputy Prime Minister. However, she resigned and returned to the backbenches over a purported incident regarding her tax affairs.

Ms. Rayner has never ruled herself out of challenging Sir Keir for the top job, should the opportunity present itself. Conversely, she has also stated that she would never knowingly "trigger" a leadership race. It is expected that Health Secretary Wes Streeting will announce his resignation today and launch a leadership bid against Mr. Starmer. Mr. Starmer is expected to fight any challenge to his premiership. Mr. Streeting met with Mr. Starmer yesterday at 10 Downing Street. The meeting was short and must have been to the point. As Mr. Streeting then emerged from No 10, walking away, not taking any questions from the press.

Ironically, the investigation into Ms. Rayner's tax affairs has cleared her of any wrongdoing. Now, the way is clear for her to join Mr. Streeting in launching her own leadership bid to challenge Mr. Starmer for the top job. Obviously, with the allegations of irregularities in her tax affairs being investigated, she could not realistically launch any leadership bid. But now that she has been found innocent, she may throw her hat into the ring. Of course, for any candidate to have the chance of taking on Sir Keir, they must get 81 Labour MPs to back them. So far, 87 MPs have called on Sir Keir to go; however, they appear not to back any single potential candidate as yet.

So, who are the other possible, potential candidates who could come forward as candidates? One person, it is assumed, who could challenge the prime minister is the former leader of the Labour Party and current Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, could be another challenger. Although it may be too late for Burnham, because first of all, he has to be elected to parliament. So, unless he can find a seat to stand in the nick of time and win, his time this time has probably passed.

The question is, how have we arrived at this juncture? When you think of 2024, Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party had a massive, landslide majority. They came into government carrying the hope of thousands of people who voted for them to deliver something different to what the Tories had delivered or their lack of delivery. Unfortunately, many perceived that Labour, after a while, thought Labour had not delivered on its manifesto promises. Whether that be on the cost of living or indeed on illegal migration. Now, with huge losses in the recent local elections, mayoral elections, and Scottish and Welsh elections, this appears for many to have put the nail in the political coffin of Sir Keir. It was thought that if Labour did badly in the local elections, the call would go out for the head of Sir Keir. And that is exactly what is happening if Wes Streeting, along with Angela Rayner and others, launch leadership bids.

Many, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, have said now is not the time for Labour to go into a divisive leadership contest against Sir Keir. She is not the only one calling for calm and for Labour, despite everything, to remain behind Sir Keir, not only in his hour of need but also in the country's hour of need.