Health Secretary Wes Streeting dominates the front pages, as Sir Keir Starmer continues to try and remain prime minister. “We Prime Minister?” Metro asks, Streeting reported that he told his partners on Thursday that he would oppose Sir Kiir. The paper comes after what it described as a “bombshell 16-minute face-off” in Downing Street just hours before the King’s speech on Wednesday.
The Sun says the Labor Party is in “civil war”, and Streeting plans to use the “starting gun” in a “bloody” leadership race. Catherine, Princess of Wales, is pictured front and center in the paper, wearing a blue suit jacket. “My Flame Lady” is visiting Italy for her first overseas trip after cancer treatment.
“The road will be prepared to leave before the 10th test” reads the Times, the health secretary is expected to leave the government on Thursday morning to officially launch the campaign for the 10th. The paper said that this will create a three-way fight between Streeting, Sir Keir and the soft left candidate, which predicts that Andy Burnham will be the mayor of Greater Manchester. A government source told The Times that the leadership contest would “essentially shut down” the government for months.
His move to force a street race has led to a “crippling tussle” as the Labor left seeks a candidate to challenge him, according to the Guardian. The newspaper pointed to Miliband and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner as his key rivals.
The Daily Telegraph is leading Miliband’s leadership bid, and Sir Keir is expecting the energy secretary to “throw his hat in the ring” shortly after Stroud’s resignation. Sources told the paper that Miliband was a proposal to the soft left wing of the Labor party as Rayner was still dealing with unresolved tax issues. Like the Times, the Telegraph warned that the leadership contest could “plunge the country into chaos” by “paralyzing” the government and rigging the bond markets.
The Mirror, one of the few front pages not to feature street photography, will instead focus on an inquiry into a £5m donation received by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Political opponents say the gift from billionaire reformer Christopher Harbor should have been declared in MPs’ register of interests. Farage said he was under no obligation to declare the gift because the gift was given before he became a member of parliament.
