Don’t ‘doomscroll’ through leaders like the Tories did, minister warns Labour MPs amid plot to oust Starmer
A cabinet minister has warned Labor MPs that “doomsday among leaders” would result in “destruction” as Sir Keir Starmer is said to be facing a plot to oust him.
Backbenchers who won their seats in the 2024 election are reportedly planning to press for the prime minister’s resignation in an open letter following the expectedly disastrous local election results.
Accordingly TimesMPs will blame Sir Keir for this week’s election results and ask him to set a date for his departure.
The newspaper reported that some cabinet ministers were aware of the plot, but none joined the limited number of potential signatories.
But housing minister Steve Reed said on Tuesday MPs “want this psychodrama to stop” and warned against the party being “led into disaster through leaders”.
“My take from MPs is that they want this psychodrama to stop,” he told Sky News.
“Do they want to focus on what will get them re-elected? What will get me re-elected is: Have we delivered the change we promised in the July 2024 general election?”
He added: “Let’s focus on what the British people want. “We can’t be like the Tories and doomsday scrolling between leaders, doom and gloom.
“We must focus on the British public, not ourselves.”
Don’t write ObservationAt the weekend, Sir Keir warned his party not to repeat the Conservative Party’s mistake of “getting into political fray”.
“We have a choice. We can remain mired in the politics of grievance and division. Or we can rise to this moment – all together – with a national effort appropriate to the scale of the threats and turmoil we face,” he said.
“When the nation came together to deal with Covid, the last government could have channeled that spirit to build a better nation. But instead they engaged in political squabbles and allowed the country to revert to the old status quo. Not this time.”
The open letter echoed a draft of a letter by normally loyal Labor MPs calling for Sir Tony Blair to resign in September 2006.
Then-defense minister Tom Watson and a number of junior members of the government left their posts in a bid to force the New Labor prime minister to resign or set a date for his departure.
Sir Tony ultimately released a statement saying he would leave office within 12 months.
It comes amid rumors of a possible leadership tilt from health minister Wes Streeting, former deputy chancellor Angela Rayner or Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.
Ms Rayner’s allies are confident she can win the support of the 81 MPs needed to mount a challenge; Mr Streeting is also said to have reached that number, but neither wanted to make the first move.
Mr Burnham, meanwhile, is tipped as the party favorite to replace the prime minister but will have many logistical hurdles to overcome before returning to Westminster if he tries to make a bid for No 10.
Steve Wright, general secretary of the Labor Party’s Fire Brigades Association, called for Sir Keir to stand down in a further blow to the prime minister.
“If they are as bad as all the polls show – I’m not a betting man but I’m sure they won’t be very good, won’t they – I think Starmer should stand down,” he said.
“I think he should have stood down a few months ago and given me, other Labor activists, people who are proud of the Labor Party, the opportunity to try to win some people over.”
