WATCH: Labour MP gives GB News his snap reaction to Wes Streeting’s resignation: 'I am worried!'

Labour MP Luke Akehurst has shared his immediate reaction to Wes Streeting's resignation from the Cabinet.

Speaking on GB News, the North Durham MP said he was “deeply disappointed” to see the now former Health Secretary appear to trigger a leadership struggle against Keir Starmer.

In his resignation letter, Mr Streeting said it was "now clear" Sir Keir would not lead Labour into the next General Election.

He said 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.

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“It needs to be broad, and it needs to be the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach, and I hope you will continue to facilitate it,” he added, appearing to fire the starting pistol of a leadership race.

Reacting to the news, Mr Akehurst said: “First off, I'm disappointed that Wes has resigned because he has been a very effective Health Secretary.

“He's a great communicator and an asset to the Labour Party and someone that I've usually been an ally of.

“But I can't say that I think this is helpful to the Government or the situation we're in whatsoever.

“It increases instability that causes market turmoil. It causes kind of paralysis in terms of what the Government can do.

“We don't know yet whether this means that he has the 81 signatures or the 81 nominations to run.

“I'm a little bit sceptical about whether he or any of the other candidates can get there.

“So we'll have to see whether this is just a kind of resignation because he didn't think his position was tenable anymore, because he clearly had such differences with the PM, or whether this is actually going to translate into a leadership challenge,” Mr Akehurst told GB News.

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The North Durham MP also shared concerns that Mr Streeting’s resignation could catalyse a shift to the left within the Labour Party.

“I'm more astonished by the idea that Wes would be a stalking horse; this is someone who is from the Blairite wing of the party.

“Why would he act as a stalking horse when all the other candidates, broadly speaking, from what we would call the soft left, have a different political vision. So, I don't understand why he would be helping them.

“I'm very firmly on the moderate wing of the Labour Party, and I am worried that Wes has pushed over a domino that could lead to the party shifting to the left.

“This would be absolutely bizarre given that places like my constituency in North Durham.

“In our local elections last year, and neighbouring authorities across the north and the Midlands have voted for Reform councillors.

“I don't understand why anyone would risk something that moved the Labour Party further away from those voters, rather than addressing their concerns,” Mr Akehurst said.

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