How Catherine West became a stalking horse – then reined herself in

Labour MP hoped to bounce others into a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer but then changed course

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hen Catherine West announced she would challenge Keir Starmer, she was labelled a stalking horse, the slightly arcane political slang for someone testing out a bid on behalf of others. A couple of days on, and some Labour MPs say the better equine analogy is a Grand National competitor that has shed its rider and bringing chaos to the race.

Some colleagues of the north London MP are even blunter in their assessment of her attempt to bounce others into a leadership challenge by launching her own, a plan scaled back on Monday to instead involve an attempt to make Starmer set a date for his departure.

“Fundamentally unserious. It has made everything worse,” one MP said. Asked if they had ascertained West’s goals or tactics, another replied: “I honestly don’t know. I think most people are giving her a wide berth.”