It might be Angela Rayner or nobody facing Sir Keir Starmer in a potential Labour leadership challenge, Jeremy Corbyn has said.
Wes Streeting was widely expected to launch a leadership bid on Thursday morning, but has so far remained tight-lipped about his moves, with some MPs suggesting the health secretary is holding off because he is struggling to rally 81 MPs after Ms Rayner said she has been cleared of deliberate wrongdoing following an investigation into her tax affairs.
The former Labour leader told Sky News: "Now that Angela Rayner has apparently paid her debts to the HMRC, she may decide to contest as well. It's almost mathematically impossible to have three candidates other than Starmer.
"It's certainly difficult to have two, because they need 81 [MPs to support them] each... I think some of those might then say, 'Well, actually, we'll go with Rayner,' or, 'We'll go with nobody.'"
