Who is Wes Streeting, the Cabinet Minister who recently resigned from Keir Starmer’s Government?

Wes Streeting, Britain’s health secretary, has been waiting for months to challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership of the ruling Labor Party, making little secret of his desire to become prime minister one day.

On Thursday, Mr. Streeting resigned from his position, but did not immediately announce a leadership challenge. Instead, he used his resignation letter to please Mr. Starmer on the direction of the government, saying, “Where we need an opinion, we have a nose.”

Mr. Streeting, arguably the best consultant in Mr. Starmer, will need the support of 81 members of Parliament to try to oust Mr. Starmer.

It is not yet clear whether he has those who support him, or whether his resignation from the cabinet will trigger immediate efforts to challenge the leadership.

The prime minister is under pressure after Labor suffered heavy losses in local elections last week, but has refused to step down.

In the resignation letter of Mr. Streeting, said it was clear that Mr Starmer would not lead Labor in the next general election and called for a “broad” battle of ideas ahead of that change. “It needs a better field of candidates,” he wrote.

If, as seems likely, the contest takes place sometime in the coming weeks or months, Mr. Streeting is likely to be seen as the leading and most promising candidate from the right wing of the Labor Party. However, that group is not popular at the moment with many members of the group.

‘Not Your Ordinary Politician’

Mr. Streeting, 43, who grew up in a working-class family, was born to young parents and lived in public housing in London’s East End. He was the first person in his family to graduate from university.

In 2023, Mr. Streeting published a pamphlet detailing his upbringing and rise to power. He wrote about the influence of his two grandfathers, both named Bill. His maternal grandfather spent time in prison for armed robbery, he said, and his grandfather was a “traditional worker,” or member of the Conservative Party, who served in the Royal Army during World War II.

He worked his way through school, and his desire for politics was evident from the start. While studying history at Selwyn College, Cambridge, he was a leader of the university’s student union and, later, head of the national student union.

Mr. Streeting, who is Anglican, came out as gay during college and has spoken of his early struggles in reconciling his religion with his sexuality.

After graduating, she worked in the non-profit sector, focusing on issues such as inequality, before entering politics.

He described himself as “not your average politician.”

A Centrist Inspired by a Conservative Grandfather

Mr. Streeting worked in local government in the London Borough of Redbridge before becoming an MP in 2015, representing Ilford North in Greater London.

But his career is almost over in the 2024 general elections. Although Labor won with flying colors, Mr. Streeting only won his Ilford North seat with 528 votes, narrowly edging out the independent, who campaigned on the Gaza issue.

Mr. Streeting boasts a background that allows him to connect with many voters and to be a straight shooter. “You will not always agree with me (you should never trust politicians who tell you what you want to hear), but you will always know where I stand,” he said on his website.

Mr. Starmer appointed Mr. Streeting as health secretary in 2024. As Mr. Streeting is considered one of the most effective labor negotiators, the prime minister sometimes relied on him to speak for his superiors.

The experience of Mr. Streeting himself with a cancer diagnosis at the age of 38 has informed his work as a secretary, he said.

He can point to some improvements in the performance of the National Health Service which has been expanded since he became the health secretary. Official data released on Thursday showed that hospitals met Mr. Streeting to cut some of the long waiting lists for treatment, which have risen dramatically during the pandemic. However, Mr. Streeting has so far failed to end a damaging series of strikes by junior hospital doctors. They were rewarded with huge salaries when the government came to power, after years of high inflation. But what upset Mr. Streeting, they continued to insist that wages were increased significantly.

He said the biggest influence in his life was his grandfather, a member of the Conservative Party. Mr. Streeting himself is an important person.

Although he has the support of conservative and right-leaning lawmakers within the Labor Party, the final decision in the leadership contest falls to ordinary dues-paying members of the party who are not in Parliament.

They lean too far to the left, so Mr. Streeting may struggle to win the race to replace Mr. Starmer if left-wing candidates also present themselves as contenders.

He distanced himself from the Expelled British Ambassador

Critics of Mr. Streeting revealed his connections with Peter Mandelson, who was fired as Britain’s ambassador to Washington because of his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr. Streeting this year wrote that he has never been a close friend of Mr. Mandelson, who was influential on the right of the Labor Party for several decades. “Mandelson and I would see each other for dinner on average once a year, at the team place. He would give advice,” she wrote.

He also released communications between them.

“I knew him but not well, and I am worried now that he is succeeding in our political culture,” said Mr. Streeting.