Even after electoral disaster, Iran war gives many MPs pause for thought about timing of leadership contest
A week after Labour’s election victory in July 2024, officials at Labour HQ held their first crisis meeting about the May 2026 local elections.
The party had just secured a 174-seat majority and already strategists were predicting it would be very tough, though none were assuming the prime minister’s own position would be vulnerable.
Now, according to multiple officials, it will be nothing short of a “bloodbath” – though it is an open question whether the parliamentary Labour party will use it to depose Keir Starmer.
One Starmer ally said it would be impossible to spin the results. “There’s no point us doing expectation management, as the results are going to be terrible anyway,” they said.
