LONDON — A little-known British defense minister is being urged by MPs to consider a bid to replace Keir Starmer, as a leadership crisis consumes the governing Labour Party.
Al Carns, the minister for the armed forces, is being touted by supporters who say the party now needs a radical change if it is to win back thousands of voters who dumped Labour for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK or the left-wing Greens at recent local elections.
Carns, who only entered parliament as the MP for the Birmingham Selly Oak seat in 2024, is a former special forces commander who served five tours in Afghanistan and has been awarded the Military Cross for gallantry. His backers see him as a fresh face in Westminster with a compelling backstory at a time when career politicians are frequent targets for voters’ ire.
Some Labour MPs have viewed the ex-commander as a possible future leadership candidate since arriving at Westminster — but his supporters have brought that timeline forward and insist he must be part of any contest which takes place this year, following a series of blows to Starmer’s authority.
The prime minister has said he is staying put after his health secretary, Wes Streeting, resigned, and longtime critic Burnham announced a bid to re-enter parliament to challenge him. More than 90 MPs have called for Starmer to set out a timeline to quit. While there is no leadership race currently underway, one is now more likely than it has been at any time under his premiership.
Burnham and Streeting have both signaled their intention to stand for the top job, but three parliamentary allies of Carns — granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters — argued that any competition must not be restricted to the two front-runners.
One Labour MP backing Carns said he appealed to a “broad spectrum” within the party, and on some issues, “he’s further left than perhaps people might think.” They said he had gathered positive support among “tens” of MPs so far, which is particularly strong among the 2024 intake of new MPs. Carns, they said, is “keeping his options open.”
The same person said Carns “sees the military as a vehicle of social mobility” and argued he is placed to attract support from MPs in the places where Reform poses a threat to Labour — known as the Red Wall — as well as from its Scottish representatives. Carns is known to have good links with former Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner, and the pair have bonded over their shared experience of growing up in deprived circumstances.
A second MP said Carns wanted to talk about resilience, which was not just about defense policy, but “getting people back into a space where they can live comfortably and have a bit of spare money to enjoy their lives.”
A third MP said they would “like to see Al in the mix” despite the likelihood of other big names putting themselves forward.
Two of these MPs acknowledged that Carns may be more likely to find promotion as a future defense or foreign secretary under another leader, but insisted he should not rule himself out at this stage. “It’s a long shot for sure and not without risk — but when you’re at 20 percent in the polls, you have to do something. Steady as she goes won’t cut it,” one said of Labour’s electoral prospects.
Calvin Bailey, another military veteran and Labour MP, has backed Starmer to remain as prime minister. However, asked about Carns, he told Times Radio: “He’s one of the most decorated military officers to enter politics; why wouldn’t he be a contender?”
Bailey added: “He had quite an austere upbringing, went to a normal school at 17, decided to join the services and the services have made him what he is today… If that is not a Labour story… then I don’t know what is.”
Policy questions
Other MPs are more skeptical. One pointed out that if there was a third challenger, “it really has to be a woman,” while another said Carns lacked a clear policy offer.
Carns has also raised eyebrows with his approach to communications. Government ministers are normally expected to stick to talking points about their brief and not attract undue attention.
Yet the former soldier has become known for pointedly ignoring the chaos inside his party while posting pictures of sunsets or paratrooper missions, and wrote a frank post-mortem of the local and devolved elections in the New Statesman last week, arguing: “Too many people in this country work hard and still feel like they’re losing.”
Two government officials suggested his op-ed should not have gone ahead during one of the PM’s most difficult moments.
A serving military officer said Carns was not universally liked within the armed forces. “He’s very quick to play on his military status,” they said of Carns, while also accusing him of deflecting criticism of delayed government investment in defense.
Carns declined to comment.