It’s fair to say that Sir Keir Starmer hasn’t had a great 2026 so far, with questions being raised about his leadership less than two years after winning a historic general election landslide.
There was Labour’s third place in the Gorton and Denton byelection behind the victorious Green Party and Reform, which came just a couple of weeks after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for the leader to step down.
The latter half of 2025 wasn’t much better, with a succession of problematic stories for the Premier, along with cabinet scandals and embarrassing u-turns - including on an income tax rise at the last budget.
And the worst was yet to come - courtesy of the scandal linking former British Ambassador to the United States Lord Mandelson to financier sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson has since been arrested by police.
The latest revelation is that Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but that the Foreign Office overruled the decision to allow him to take up the role.
Sir Keir insists that he was never informed of the decision, but some political rivals have accused him of misleading parliament, calling for him to step down.
More poor performances for Labour at May’s Scottish Holyrood Election and English local elections could see any remaining support for the beleagured PM vanish.
There is now growing speculation over who will succeed him when he eventually stands aside - or is forcibly removed - from office.
Here are the 11 most likely candidates - according to the bookies.
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1. Angela Rayner - 5/2
Angela Rayner, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, lost her place in cabinet after she breached the ministerial code by underpaying stamp duty on a property in Hove. The bookies don't think her political career is finished yet though - she's the clear 5/2 favourite to take over as Labour leader when the time comes. | Getty Images
2. Wes Streeting - 11/2
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has previously insisted he is "not challenging the Prime Minister", despite a briefing war where some close to Keir Starmer said he was after the top job. He's failed to rule out any future challenge though, and seems to harbour ambitions of leading the country. He's the 11/2 second favourite to take over from Sir Keir and has seen his odds drift slightly over the last couple of weeks. | Getty Images
3. Ed Miliband - 7/1
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband unexpectedly lost the 2015 General Election to David Cameron by 10 seats, effectively beginning the process of Brexit. It would be one of the more remarkable political comebacks if he was able to give becoming PM another shot. The bookies reckon he has an 7/1 chance of being next Labour leader - rising from fifth favourite to third favourite in the last month. | Getty Images
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4. Andy Burnham - 9/1
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham is a hugely popular figure with both Labour MPs and voters. He's another potential candidate who has refused to rule out standing in any leadership challenge. The one (fairly large) problem is that he's not an MP so would need to contest and win a byelection first - something that he was recently blocked from doing by the party's NEC. Despite that he's had his odds slashed to 9/1 in recent weeks, jumping from eighth favourite to fourth favourite. | Getty Images