Cabinet Minister insists ‘there is no leadership challenge’ as he backs Keir Starmer to fight on

Nick Thomas-Symonds has insisted “there is no leadership challenge” to replace Keir Starmer in Downing Street.

Speaking to GB News, the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office backed the Prime Minister to remain at the helm of the Government.

At least 93 Labour backbenchers have demanded Sir Keir step down following devastating local election results.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are seen as frontrunners to replace him amid rumours of imminent leadership bids.

Amid the speculation, Mr Thomas-Symonds was keen to stress that Sir Keir’s position was not under threat.

“In terms of the point about a leadership contest, the rules are very clear. You have to have an alternative challenger, a single challenger who can command 81 signatures in total.

“That hasn't happened in recent days,” he said, adding that there was therefore “no leadership contest”.

However, he acknowledged: “It's been turbulent, I'm not going to insult the intelligence of your viewers by saying anything else.”

“They'll have seen it on their television screens, but those are the rules. That threshold has not been met. So we move forward,” the Cabinet Minister said.

“The Prime Minister had a mandate from the 2024 general election to deliver change for the public. And when I hear frustrations about the pace of change, I share them.

“I'm doing work at the centre of government, where I work in the Cabinet Office to reduce those barriers to delivery.

“Having seen the Prime Minister last night, I saw at first, right in front of me, his determination to deliver that change and get on with it. And that's what we will do,” Mr Thomas-Symonds declared.

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“Today we have 35 bills in the King's Speech, delivering for people in the country.

“That's the instruction we had from the electorate last week. They want to see that change. And that's exactly what we move on to and focus on.”

Mr Thomas-Symonds also rubbished speculation over the 16-minute showdown meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Streeting ahead of the King’s Speech this morning.

“I've seen a lot of dramatisation of this moment. Anyone would think it was the poker scene out of Casino Royale or something like that, listening to some of the coverage,” he began.

“The Prime Minister said yesterday at the start of Cabinet that any Cabinet Ministers who wanted to pop around to see him or to have a coffee were welcome to do so, that it's about 15 minutes.

“I think it's pretty unsurprising. I went to see the Prime Minister last night and had a very good conversation.

“It's very important, obviously, that the Prime Minister speaks to his cabinet, listens to their concerns, and you've seen Wes Streeting going in to do that this morning,” the Paymaster General said.