Keir Starmer is locked in talks with Wes Streeting today as unions turn on him – and the King is dragged into Labour’s meltdown.
Amid scenes of traditional pomp and ceremony, the monarch will conduct the State Opening of Parliament.
But while the King will read out a list of legislation, including proposals to cosy up to the EU and boost the Net Zero drive, there is ‘outrage’ that he has been dragged into a shambolic Labour coup.
The party’s union paymasters waded into the row this morning, releasing a joint statement calling for a more Left-wing agenda.
‘It’s clear that the Prime Minister will not lead Labour into the next election, and at some stage a plan will have to be put in place for the election of a new leader,’ the affiliated unions said.
Mr Streeting has arrived in Downing Street for a showdown meeting with the PM over the coup attempt in the wake of disastrous local elections. He opted to stride in through the famous black door instead of one of the more discreet entrances.
The PM’s band of allies have dismissed the encounter as a ‘quick coffee’, jibing that Mr Streeting does not have the numbers or the ‘nerve’ to challenge.
But the peril remains – with claims unions are poised to say Sir Keir cannot fight the next election.
Ominously, the next batch of Mandelson documents is due to be released as early as next week.
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner are both circling as the question of who will succeed Sir Keir dominates MPs’ discussions.
High drama at Westminster yesterday saw four Labour ministers resign, saying they no longer had confidence in the premier.
The number of Labour MPs calling for him to go rose to 90, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was forced to deny she is on the brink of quitting after telling the PM to set out a timetable for his departure.
In other twists and turns today:
- The King’s speech will not include any more proposals to curb the benefits bill, in what is seen as a sign of Sir Keir’s weakness;
- Government borrowing costs have subsided somewhat after markets took fright at the prospect of Labour being pushed to the Left with a spending splurge;
- Mr Burnham’s allies are claiming he has an MP ready to quit to let him stand for the Commons, although it is unclear whether Labour’s ruling body would block him;
- Veterans minister Al Carns has made an apparent pitch of his own with a ‘manifesto’ in Labour bible the New Statesman;
The King will lay out Keir Starmer’s plans for Government today – despite uncertainty over whether he will be in power to implement it
Wes Streeting has arrived in Downing Street for a showdown meeting with the PM over the coup attempt in the wake of disastrous local elections
Amid scenes of traditional pomp and ceremony, the monarch will conduct the State Opening of Parliament
A bizarre Cabinet meeting yesterday saw Sir Keir try to brush away the insurrection against him.
He kicked off the session by vowing to fight on, insisting he would only discuss the leadership issue with ministers one-on-one. However, sources said he then refused to meet Mr Streeting individually.
The Health Secretary has indicated he will not make any further moves before the King’s Speech, to avoid embarrassing the monarch.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy tried to cool the situation last night be appealing for Labour MPs to step back from the brink – warning that the party’s ‘navel gazing’ was damaging the country.
The prospect of a Labour leadership coup sparked panic on financial markets as traders took fright at the thought of a new leader dragging the Government further Left.
An ally of Mr Burnham said the markets would have to ‘fall into line’ if he seized power.
But those same markets yesterday forced up government borrowing costs to the highest level this century. The pound also fell against both the dollar and the euro.
Donald Trump last night said it was up to Sir Keir whether to quit as he warned that the Prime Minister was ‘windmilling the country to death’.
Jess Phillips, the most high profile of the ministerial departures, criticised the Prime Minister’s failure to be ‘bold’.
Dr Zubir Ahmed followed her out of the door on Tuesday afternoon, citing a ‘lack of values-driven leadership’ and saying the public has ‘irretrievably lost confidence in you as Prime Minister’.
Alex Davies-Jones, believed to be a supporter of Mr Streeting, also quit the Home Office, saying there had been a lack of ‘bold, radical action’.
Resigning housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, an ally of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, said the public had lost trust in Sir Keir because of issues such as the scrapping of the winter fuel payment.
The Government appointed four new ministers and three new whips to replace those who departed in protest at Sir Keir’s leadership.
Nesil Caliskan has been made a parliamentary under-secretary of state (PPS) in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Natalie Fleet a PPS in the Home Office, Catherine Atkinson a PPS in the Ministry of Justice and Preet Kaur Gill a PPS in the Department of Health and Social Care.
Gen Kitchen has been made comptroller of HM Household and Deirdre Costigan is the new junior Lord of the Treasury, both Government whips. Shaun Davies will be an assistant whip in the House of Commons.
