Who might want Sir Keir Starmer's job as PM?

There's a lot going on in the world of politics right now.

Members of Parliament (MPs) have just come back from a break, but the King's Speech - which traditionally reopens Parliament - was a bit overshadowed by all the chatter about whether or not Prime Minister Keir Starmer will continue in his job.

After some poor election results in England, Scotland and Wales, some people in the Labour Party, which Sir Keir Starmer leads, say he needs to step down.

He's not done that yet, and says he plans to continue as leader of the Labour party and Prime Minister until the next election.

However, that's not stopped people calling for him to go.

So, who's been mentioned as potential replacements?

Wes Streeting is the MP for Ilford North and until 14 May 2026 was the Health Secretary, meaning he was in charge of the NHS, among other things.

He has now resigned from the government saying that he has "lost confidence" in the leadership of Prime Minster Keir Starmer and that it would be "dishonourable and unprincipled" to stay in his top team.

Mr Streeting has always been open about saying he'd like to be Prime Minister one day, but in recent weeks rumours that he would challenge Sir Keir Starmer have grown.

Did you know? When he was younger he was the leader of the National Union of Students.

Another name that's been mentioned is Angela Rayner.

The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne was appointed deputy Prime Minister by Sir Keir Starmer when Labour won the general election in 2024.

However, in 2025, she had to resign as there were questions about how much tax she'd paid or her home in Hove, in the South of England.

However, she claims that she has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Did you know? When she became a grandmother in 2017, she gave herself the nickname 'Grangela'.

Lastly, a lot of people are also talking about the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.

He used to be a Member of Parliament (MP), and served in government as Health Secretary. He tried to become leader of the Labour Party twice, but was beaten both times.

His big difficulty in challenging Sir Keir Starmer is that to be Labour leader he needs to be an MP, which he isn't at this time.

An application was made for him to stand in a by-election in early 2026, however the Labour Party wouldn't let him enter as a candidate.

Did you know? Although he's the Mayor of Greater Manchester, he supports the Premier League team Everton, from Merseyside.