He’s in the running to be Prime Minister.
With the UK government resembling more and more a fifth series of The Thick of It, you can only imagine the conversations going on in the back rooms of Downing Street and Whitehall right now.
In the last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been resisting mounting pressure from outside and within his own party to resign or set out a timetable for departure.
Meanwhile, as per reports, over 80 Labour MPs are now calling on Starmer to vacate his role, almost a quarter of the number of incumbent MPs the party have in the House of Commons.
The big news this morning is that a number of senior Labour figures would compete in a leadership race if a contest is triggered.
Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary this morning, has been one of the most heavily mentioned names as someone who has already been rumoured to mount a challenge before, while Ed Miliband might be the most prominent name to be put forward, being a former Labour leader.
Andy Burnham is, of course, a name that won’t be going away, although he faces the issue of not currently being an MP while Angela Rayner is also being thrown into the mix.
However, there is one name, separate to the rest because of the their much smaller public profile.
Who is Al Carns?
Al Carns is a British Labour MP and former Royal Marines colonel who entered Parliament in 2024 after a long military career that included combat tours in Afghanistan and service with UK special forces.
Raised in Aberdeen in a working-class single-parent household, he joined the Marines at 19 and rose through the ranks to become a highly decorated officer, receiving honours including the Military Cross and Distinguished Service Order.
Since becoming MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, he has quickly risen within government to serve as Minister for the Armed Forces, building a reputation for focusing on defence reform, veterans’ issues, and national resilience.
Known for his direct communication style and strong military credentials, Carns has also attracted media attention for endurance challenges such as climbing Mount Everest.
A little known name until a few months back, Al Carns has emerged as a realistic contender for the premiership.
Reports from the Independent claim that Carns is a person Reform UK supposedly fears because of strong support in the business and third sectors as well as desires to scrap the Chagos Islands deal and take a tougher stance on immigration.
An ally of Farage’s told the Independent: “We are keeping a close eye on Al Carns. He would be a nightmare for Reform UK. He would basically neutralise all Nigel’s attack lines with voters. Also he would come without any of the political baggage of others.”
As per Sky Bet, Carns is currently an outsider in the running to be the next PM, at 18/1, although things are known to change rapidly in politics.
Who else could replace Starmer
While the Labour Party isn’t exactly spoilt for choice, there are a number of names being put forward to replace Starmer if he is ousted.
Wes Streeting
A frontrunner purely because his name has been mentioned the most, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has a solid foundation to challenge from.
While Streeting has already denied a plan to challenge Starmer last year, he does seem to hold just enough approval to mount a challenge.
While not the favourite of the Labour Party, Streeting has a strong media presence, despite being the 20th most popular current Labour MP (down from 6th last year), as per YouGov data, although he lags behind fellow cabinet ministers Ed Miliband, David Lammy as well as former minister Angela Rayner.
If indeed Streeting does manage to mount a challenge, we could see Downing Street become Downing Streeting.
However, it is worth noting that, like many of Starmer’s cabinet, he has ties with the sacked Peter Mandelson, potentially jeopardising a challenge.
Ed Miliband
Like a haunted ghost, Ed Miliband’s name has resurfaced in recent times, notably since making it into Keir Starmer’s cabinet.
The former Labour leader and leader of the opposition from 2010 to 2015 so has experience in running a party and is one of the more popular alternatives.
Andy Burnham
Known as the ‘King of the North’ the current mayor of Greater Manchester is by far the most popular Labour politician currently.
However, an attempt to make his way into parliament was recently foiled by his own party, being blocked from running in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
This is because there remains one key issue with Burnham, he’s not an MP, and, while it’s not a legal requirement, it is generally accepted that a PM must also be an MP for obvious reasons such as partaking in PMQs.
Although unlikely, there could be a scenario where a Burnham ally steps down from their seat to force a by-election and allow Burnham into parliament.
This, however, would be long and tedious.
This said, many would struggle to disagree that Burnham has done a solid job in Manchester, helping it become the fastest-growing city in the UK outside of London, although this was also helped by those before him.
Burnham is known to have previously clashed with Starmer while his past comments have left the door firmly ajar.
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