Keir Starmer had a ‘blink and you miss it’ showdown with Wes Streeting today as the PM suffered more body blows – and the King is dragged into Labour’s meltdown.
A grim-faced Health Secretary walked out of Downing Street barely 15 minutes after he entered through the famous black door.
The brevity of the encounter will spark speculation that there was no meeting of minds over Mr Streeting’s coup attempt in the wake of disastrous local elections.
The PM’s band of allies had dismissed the discussion as a ‘quick cup of coffee’ beforehand, jibing that Mr Streeting does not have the numbers or the ‘nerve’ to challenge.
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.
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 civil war.
Ominously for Sir Keir, 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;
Wes Streeting arrived in Downing Street at 8.26am for a showdown meeting with the PM over the coup attempt in the wake of disastrous local elections
A grim-faced Health Secretary walked out of Downing Street again at 8.43am
The King will lay out Keir Starmer’s plans for Government today – despite uncertainty over whether he will be in power to implement it
Amid scenes of traditional pomp and ceremony, the monarch will conduct the State Opening of Parliament
The unions, including Unite, Unison and the GMB, said they recognised that progress has been made by the Government, such as aspects of the Employment Rights Act and the increase in the minimum wage.
But they said the results of last week’s elections were ‘devastating’.
The statement said: ‘Labour is not doing enough to deliver the change that working people voted for at the general election. Our focus is on the fundamental change of direction on economic policy and political strategy that unions have been clear is needed, and not on the personalities and unfolding political drama in Westminster.
‘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.
‘This is a point where the future of the Party we founded will be debated and determined and we are working closely as unions to shape a shared vision on policy, political strategy and economic policy that will re-orient Labour back to working people, so Labour do what it was elected to do – govern in the interests of workers.’
TULO – the Trade Union and Labour Organisation – is chaired by Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas.
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.
Touring broadcast studios this morning, loyalist minister Nick Thomas-Symonds admitted the PM had been experiencing ‘turbulence’.
But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Anyone would think we were talking about the final scene at a Casino Royale or something, looking at some of the coverage that we’ve had.’
He earlier told BBC Breakfast: ‘There is no contest for the leadership of the Labour Party.
‘There’s a very clear way to do that under our rules of 81 people nominating an alternative candidate. That hasn’t happened.
‘The contest hasn’t been triggered. We are moving on. I’m not saying yesterday wasn’t turbulent. It evidently was, but we are moving, getting on with delivery.’
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 yesterday as traders took fright at the thought of a new leader dragging the Government further Left.
Ms Rayner – who has formed an alliance with Mr Burnham – put out a long statement on Sunday laying out demands for mass nationalisations and higher taxes.
An ally of the Manchester mayor – who was seen in London yesterday but kept a low profile – caused more concern by insisting the markets will have to ‘fall into line’ if he seizes 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.
