Michael Gove reveals the one person Keir Starmer should fear the most | Politics | News
Political kingpin Michael Gove has told Sir Keir Starmer who he believes will be the biggest threat as the beleaguered Prime Minister vies to retain the top job – and surprisingly the former minister said the Prime Minister’s nemesis is not Nigel Farage. There are proverbial sharks circling Sir Keir in Westminster after Labor’s vote collapse, fueled by, among other things, U-turns by hapless Chancellor Rachel Reeves, a stagnant economy, a cost-of-living crisis and a failure to tackle illegal immigrants crossing the Channel.
Reform UK, on the other hand, started to rise in the ratings. The party came in second place in the last general elections with more than 90 seats and received 14.3% of the votes. Now, just over 18 months later, Nigel Farage’s new offspring are leading ahead of Labor and the Conservatives in most opinion polls and have five MPs in the House of Commons, as well as controlling a number of local councils.
And Mr Farage was furious this week over Labour’s decision to postpone the mayoral election; Reform UK said it had a good chance of winning most of these by 2028 in Essex, Hampshire and Solent, Sussex and Brighton and Norfolk and Suffolk. At Wednesday’s press conference he described the move as the act of “tyrants, not democrats”, and critics argued Sir Keir was holding back votes because of himself. Precarious position in Downing Street. A spokesman for Number 10 denied this and said plans to increase the vote, originally planned for next year, would allow more time for local government reorganization as part of the devolution agenda.
And Sir Keir’s challenges do not only come from other political parties. Within the Labor Party, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Health Minister Wes Streeting have been suggested as potential successors.
Senior Conservative Lord Michael Gove is no stranger to bitter moments when it comes to political rivals having famously clashed with Boris Johnson in the past. Lord Gove, now a peer in the House of Lords, is well versed in the Machiavellian machinations of the leadership struggle.
He told the Daily Mail He said he believed it would not be Mr Streeting and Mr Burnham who were most likely to unseat the Prime Minister. It was reported this week that Mr Streeting was hoping to strike a deal with Angela Rayner to take the top job, but Lord Gove said: “I think Wes Streeting is wrong if he thinks Angela Rayner will essentially play the role of political girlfriend in terms of her ambitions because I actually think Angela Rayner is in a better position than Wes Streeting to win any leadership election.
“The idea that he would meekly accept Wes Streeting as his way back to respectability because of his tax difficulties – I don’t think he would.|
Lord Gove has denied former Labor leader Net Zero fanatic Ed Milliband has any chance of replacing Sir Keir. Mr Milliband has come under wide-ranging criticism for his eco-energy policy of covering farmland with solar power plants and for Britain having the highest electricity prices in Europe.
Responding to reports in the Telegraph that he and Ms Rayner were involved in a deal to replace Sir Keir, a spokesman for Mr Streeting said: “This is a silly season story and completely untrue. People seem to be getting carried away and misinterpret his support for Angela as anything other than supporting a good person going through a difficult time.”
Asked to respond to claims that the deal would allow her to take “any cabinet post she wants”, a source close to Ms Rayner said: “There is no vacancy and there is no deal. Amidst all the exciting and silly games, Angela is focused on representing her voters and making sure this Government does what she wants. Angela is made of tough stuff and will not be played like a pawn.”
