Could a snap election be around the corner? That’s the message Keir Starmer relayed to party staff in a conference call this morning. He told those assembled that the economic turmoil following the Chancellor’s not-so-mini Budget means the government ‘could fall at any time’. As a result, his party needs to be election ready: ‘We have to recognise it is that unstable. We need to be ready. We need to get on an election footing straight away’.

This isn’t the first time in recent months that figures in Labour have said they’re on an election footing – it’s a useful line to garner attention and rally the base. But this time Starmer’s words are accompanied with a number of significant changes. The party is being relocated to a new headquarters (rumoured to be south London) and a shake-up of his team is underway.

Starmer’s chief of staff Sam White is to leave his role. A restructuring is under way whereby policy and communication roles will move to Labour headquarters and will report to the general secretary David Evans. According to one party insider, White’s departure shows a change of focus towards preparing for the election. Under the new plans, the leader’s office will play a smaller role.

The changes come following the controversial deselection of Sam Tarry. The former shadow minister was ousted last night as the MP for Ilford South by local party members in favour of Jas Athwal. While party figures are quick to put the result down to local factors, it is not lost on Labour centrists that Tarry was on the left of the party, previously helping to organise Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign. He was sacked as a shadow transport minister in the summer after he attended a picket line in support of RMT workers. As Starmer attempts to pitch his party as the new centre ground, it isn’t exactly unhelpful.

So, will Starmer get his early election? Clearly there is a lot of Tory turmoil right now, but for now, at least, Conservatives are unified on the need to avoid going to the polls anytime soon. One government source puts the odds of a snap election at 100/1.

In the meantime, Starmer’s challenge is to keep his party focussed – suggesting an election could happen at any moment helps to do that. Yet the party could face a long wait if it doesn’t come until 2024. The fact that current polls point to a large Labour majority means the party will face more scrutiny in the coming months over its policy plans. There is a temptation among some in the party to play it safe given the scale of the lead. But as Starmer told staff today: now is ‘not a time for complacency or caution’. That suggests the Labour leader doesn’t think he can just rely on Tory disarray, but that he knows his party needs to have a convincing message of its own.