SIR Keir Starmer will celebrate his first anniversary as Prime Minister next week — but no one will be popping open the Champagne in No10.
Labour MPs are in open mutiny, forcing the PM into a humiliating climbdown on welfare cuts — his third screeching U-turn within a month.
Sir Keir Starmer is set to celebrate his first anniversary as Prime Minister
AlamyThe PM’s closest adviser, Morgan McSweeney[/caption]
The knives are out for the PM’s closest adviser, Morgan McSweeney.
And in dark corners of Westminster’s pubs, senior Labour figures are starting to question if Sir Keir will still be PM by the time the nation next goes to the polls.
“It sounds mad, but he might not survive as leader until the next election”, one says.
“Then the question is, who comes next — Wes Streeting or Angela Rayner?”
Both are said to be quietly sounding out supporters.
Sir Keir’s poll ratings have plummeted, Britain’s borders are out of control, and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party are thrashing him at the ballot box.
It is an astonishing fall from grace for a man who crushed the Tories and delivered a Labour landslide victory just 12 months ago.
So how did things get so bad for Starmer so quickly?
Labour’s first year in office has been one of dizzying U-turns and political missteps.
The freebies scandal made party bigwigs look greedy.
The decision to strip millions of pensioners of their winter fuel allowance just before Christmas made Labour look cruel.
That eye-watering £40billion of tax hikes in the Budget made them look reckless.
Then came the screeching U-turns.
Winter fuel cuts were dumped after a bloodbath in the local elections
A grooming gangs national inquiry was ordered only after months of public fury.
GettyAngela Rayner is said to be quietly sounding out supporters[/caption]
GettyAs is Health Secretary Wes Streeting[/caption]
Now Keir has been forced into yet another crushing climbdown again, on welfare cuts.
It was an astonishing mutiny, led by rebels who had spent months secretly working on their plot to wreck plans to cut £5billion from the welfare budget.
They blindsided No10 with the scale of their revolt. Cabinet ministers were sent out to turn the thumbscrews and sell the reforms. But most efforts were “half-hearted”, insiders say.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall was letting it be known the scale of the cuts had been forced on her by the Chancellor.
Sharpening their knives
Rachel Reeves hit the phones to darkly warn rebels that it was effectively a confidence vote in Keir Starmer and his authority would be shredded if they defeated him.
But her threats fell on deaf ears. The rebels won and the cuts were massively watered down.
The Chancellor was sidelined from negotiations with rebels, which were led by Deputy PM Angela Rayner and Chief Whip Alan Campbell.
Labour MPs say it is Reeves’ credibility that has been shredded. A growing number want her sacked.
The whole saga has massively damaged Sir Keir’s authority. It has become open season on the PM.
Labour MPs complain they never see him in the tearoom and that he doesn’t turn up to vote very often.
It is brutal, Keir shows no loyalty.
Staffer
Sir Keir has embraced a reputation for being ruthless when he needs to be.
But now he is seen not as not just ruthless — but disloyal.
He has sacked senior aides. This includes his first Chief of Staff Sue Gray, but also other more popular staffers.
One long-standing aide was called in for a meeting, fired, and returned to his desk to find his belongings had already been packed up into a cardboard box.
“It is brutal,” another staffer said. “Keir shows no loyalty.”
Now there is growing talk the PM’s most powerful adviser, Morgan McSweeney, could go. A growing army of Labour MPs — including some loyal Starmerites — are sharpening their knives for him.
PALabour MPs say Rachel Reeves’ credibility has been shredded[/caption]
One says: “He is a gifted campaigner, but is he the right person to be Chief of Staff? Keir needs to change the team around him.”
One rumour circulating among a small but well-connected group of Labour figures suggests that Morgan wants to leave his role as Chief of Staff and return to Labour HQ to lead the campaign and election strategy — the fight to beat Reform in 2029.
Liz Lloyd — Tony Blair’s old deputy Chief of Staff and Starmer’s current director of policy — is being touted as a possible replacement, according to the rumour.
But senior figures in No10 shot this down and insisted Morgan isn’t going anywhere.
Keir Starmer and his team know the first year has been stormy.
They are now talking about entering “phase 2” of government.
More volatile than ever
Hard decisions have been made, now it’s time to spend the (borrowed) cash, build more homes, fill in more potholes, create more NHS appointments and get the nation feeling happier, richer and more upbeat again.
As one aide explains it: “It is about making people feel optimistic — about this country’s future and their own.”
But voters are more volatile than ever before and old party allegiances have shattered.
Conservative, Labour, Reform. It is easy to find voters who have put Xs by each of these parties in the past few years.
But if Sir Keir Starmer wants to keep his voters, then he must give them something to vote for.
Tackling crime and bringing our borders back under control will be crucial.
There are early signs the NHS is improving.
But if the health service wants our billions, it must learn not just to see patients quicker, but to treat them better — with dignity and care.
On defence, the PM has admirably doubled down on support for Ukraine and increased defence spending. He must hold firm.
It is not too late for the PM to turn things around.
But Sir Keir must have the bravery to start making the case for big reform — or he risks sliding into yet more turmoil.
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