This morning’s cabinet meeting was one for the ages. At 9.30 a.m., British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was greeted by his senior ministers, almost all of whom think the game is up. Ahead of entering Downing Street today, they will have seen the list of 80 Labour MPs – the magic number needed for a ballot – calling for him to go. Last night, we had junior aides jumping ship; this morning we have the first minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh. She has quit the government and called on Starmer to “do the right thing.” When you have David Lammy, Yvette Cooper, John Healey and Shabana Mahmood all telling Downing Street that it is over, you know that the Prime Minister has lost the dressing room.
Until the PM himself faces reality, Labour will continue this absolute farce, to the delight of his opponents
What is striking now is how Starmer is already ceasing to be a live target in the view of his critics. They have begun arguing over the question of succession, assuming the PM is already on his way out. Last night, soft left sources attacked Wes Streeting in Bloomberg; this morning the veteran left-winger John McDonnell has done the same. He wrote online that the Health Secretary “has launched coup for fear of a democratic process & whilst candidates are blocked. Handing leadership to Mandelson’s protege is gift to Reform.” McDonnell will be thinking of the list of MP names on Coffee House: what began as a soft left protest on Friday quickly became hijacked by the Blairite wing of the party.
Threatening to topple the next leader before the current one has even left is a twist too far even for the Tories. People within the building of No. 10 know what needs to be done: to set out a timetable for Starmer’s departure and to do so sharpish. Starmer is digging in, telling the cabinet that “The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families… The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet.” But until the PM himself faces political reality, Labour will continue this absolute farce, to the delight of his opponents.
The most striking thing from Nigel Farage, the loudest man in politics, is his silence these past 48 hours. Should Starmer now be toppled, calls for a general election will become more difficult to ignore – much to the delight of Reform UK.
