Who are Wes Streeting's allies? The Scottish MPs who back the former health secretary
When Wes Streeting made his resignation speech, five Scots were sat in in the group around him.
When Wes Streeting made his resignation speech in the House of Commons this week, he was surrounded by an interesting group of MPs.
The bulk of them were new to the House of Commons, having been elected in 2024 - with a few exceptions.
Among them were five Scots: Zubir Ahmed, Melanie Ward, Gordon McKee, Alan Gemmell and Richard Baker.
Unsurprisingly, all five of these MPs called for the Prime Minister to resign last week, with some of them quitting their government jobs to do so.
But who are these MPs who have taken the risky move of speaking out against Sir Keir Starmer and have also quite clearly tagged themselves to Mr Streeting’s bid for the Labour leadership?
Zubir Ahmed
Probably the highest profile of the Scots MPs who are backing Mr Streeting, Zubir Ahmed resigned as a health minister when he called for Sir Keir to quit.
The Glasgow South West MP - a transplant surgeon by trade - is an old school friend of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Held in high regard when he was a candidate, Dr Ahmed was made Mr Streeting’s parliamentary private secretary (PPS) - an assistant - just weeks after the general election.
In the September 2025 reshuffle he was promoted to a junior health minister job. This was no mean feat for someone who had been elected just a year earlier.
He sat directly in front of Mr Streeting when he made his resignation speech.
Melanie Ward
Ms Ward was selected only a couple of months out from the general election as Labour’s candidate in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy. The previous candidate was sacked over liking “racist” social media posts.
A former chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians, Ms Ward was critical of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
After being elected in 2024, she was made a PPS to then Scotland Secretary Ian Murray. In September’s reshuffle she moved to the Ministry of Justice, where she was an aide to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.
Gordon McKee
The youngest of the group, Gordon McKee may be best known for his eye-catching social media videos. Many have gone viral - namely one where he explained the UK’s debt using custard creams.
Before being elected as MP for Glasgow South, Mr McKee served in Anas Sarwar’s 2021 leadership campaign and then as an adviser to Ian Murray when he was shadow Scotland secretary.
Tipped as a rising star in the party, Mr McKee was PPS to Liz Kendall and then Pat McFadden in the Department for Work and Pensions.
Alan Gemmell
A former diplomat and civil servant, Alan Gemmell was also given a government job as soon as he was elected.
The Central Ayrshire MP was made a PPS in the Foreign Office, before moving to the Home Office last year.
He quit the government earlier this year - before the recent resignations - to join the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Richard Baker
Richard Baker was perhaps not considered as much of an ally of Mr Streeting - but he was also sat with the group during the former health secretary’s resignation speech this week.
He is the only one of the five Scots who was not in the government. But he holds another important role: chair of the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party.
The Glenrothes and Mid Fife MP was previously an MSP between 2003 and 2016. His wife, Claire Baker has been an MSP since 2007.
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