While Tories are quite ruthless about removing a leader, Labour MPs can’t decide whether their regicide is a tragedy or comedy
No one can say they weren’t warned. Last week’s elections had always been marked out as a time of maximum danger for Keir Starmer if the results were as bad as feared. And so it proved. Only no one had anticipated quite the level of drama that would go with it. While the Tories have always been quite ruthless about getting rid of a leader they deem surplus to requirements, Labour MPs seem unable to decide whether their regicide is a tragedy or a comedy. Or a mixture of both. The action started on Sunday with former minister Catherine West saying she was going to stand against Starmer. Then she decided she would wait and seeThen West said she wouldn’t be standing against him after all. Cue chaos. Keir was determined to hang on , saying he deserved a bit longer. Meanwhile more than 100 of his MPs, including several ministers who had resigned their posts, insisted he had to go. His crime? Being a bit average.
With Reform currently favourites to win the next election, the stakes had never been higher. Only neither of Keir’s two main challengers – Angela Rayner seemed to have melted away – were prepared to break cover. Andy Burnham because he was stuck in Manchester without a seat in Westminster and Wes Streeting because he didn’t want to look like the guy who had wielded the knife. Even though everyone knew what he was up to. It was an unresolved standoff. One that was unsustainable.
