47 h. ago Tony Blair ‘planning major intervention’ over Labour’s future

The former Labour leader is reported to be ‘looking closely’ at leadership candidates

Politics

9 d. ago Budget has preserved Starmer’s job until at least May elections, say Labour MPs

While some call budget ‘tactical victory’, few MPs believe it is enough for Labour to beat ReformUK politics live – latest updatesLabour MPs have said they believe Keir Starmer’s leadership is safe until at least the May elections, after a budget that avoided any major damaging measures but which few MPs believe will revive the party’s fortunes.More than a dozen previously loyal MPs told the Guardian they did not believe the budget would shift the fundamentals required for the party to beat Reform. “It only delays what is inevitable,” one minister said. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Burnham heads list of candidates by Labour members to replace Starmer

The Greater Manchester mayor is one of four Labour politicians, including Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband and Wes Streeting, who Labour Party members would vote for to replace Keir Starmer, according to a new poll

Events

2 w. ago Andy Burnham won't rule out Labour leadership bid as pressure grows on Keir Starmer

Andy Burnham refused to rule out standing against Keir Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party, as rumours continue to grow about the future of the Prime Minister

Events

2 w. ago Andy Burnham refuses to rule out challenging Keir Starmer as PM amid leadership coup speculation

Asked whether he could rule out challenging the prime minister, Andy Burnham repeatedly dodged the question

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer’s squandering of a historic election victory is a tragedy nearing its finale | Rafael Behr

The tactics that gave Labour its huge majority in 2024 were no preparation for government – and the prime minister has proved he has nothing more to offerThe mood among Labour MPs these days follows Edgar’s law. This states that the scale of any misfortune can only be measured against unknown future disasters. As Shakespeare has the banished son of the blinded Earl of Gloucester say in King Lear: “The worst is not, so long as we can say ‘this is the worst’.”According to Edgar’s law, there is no opinion poll so gloomy for Labour that it can’t be followed by one even bleaker; no fiscal forecast so bad that the Treasury can’t aggravate it with contradictory signals on tax; no misgivings about Keir Starmer that can’t be amplified by malevolent briefing about a leadership challenge; no social policy so nauseating to the party faithful that it can’t be made grosser still with a relish of cruelty.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Now is not the time for a Labour leadership election | Polly Toynbee

The focus should be on talking up this government’s achievements so far – and preventing a Reform victoryThe dominant political force sweeping across Europe is the “throw the bastards out” party, whoever happens to be in power. Discontent and distrust spread as global democracy declines. Only 6.6% of the world’s people live in a full democracy, according to the Economist’s global index, down from 12.5% 10 years ago. Europe is still the most democratic place, but it’s turbulent.Britain is an insular country that needs reminding it is not alone in its political turmoil after an omnishambles week for Keir Starmer’s government. The rumbling earthquakes beneath No 10 also shake the ground under the Élysée Palace and other official residences. A number of European countries have thrown out old governments in the past three years, including Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and the UK (Starmer is Britain’s sixth prime minister in less than a decade)...

Politics

3 w. ago Home secretary condemns ‘mortifying’ Labour leadership row as Rayner allies forced to deny new plot

Labour party ‘fighting like rats in a sack’ as turmoil at top of government overshadows Shabana Mahmood’s immigration crackdown

Politics

3 w. ago Rayner allies hit out at ‘false’ claims of plot to oust Starmer as Labour leadership row deepens

A source close to the MP said Ms Rayner is ‘focussed on representing her local community’

Politics

3 w. ago Lucy Powell slams 'unacceptable' Labour infighting and explains what needs to change

Speaking in a week that saw a briefing war emerge over Keir Starmer’s leadership, the Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell called for a 'cultural reset' in how politics was done

Politics

3 w. ago Starmer was never meant to be Labour’s prime minister – his leadership was doomed from the start | Neal Lawson

His alliance with the party’s anti-Corbyn faction was a shotgun marriage that totally lacked vision. Now Labour is paying the priceWes Streeting was always meant to be their Labour prime minister. The plan, hatched by a tiny clique of rightwing faction fighters, was this: find a candidate on whom they could fake a continuation Corbynism project to win the leadership. Then kick the ladder away from the people who backed them and the promises they made. At the next general election, given the scale of the Tory majority after 2019, get Labour back in the ring with more MPs and then hand over to Streeting. The real grownups would then be in charge and the subsequent election would be secured.But no one reckoned with Covid, Tory turmoil and the collapse of the SNP. Suddenly Keir Starmer wasn’t going to just lead Labour to a better defeat and a springboard for victory next time. Against the odds, he was going to win. Just as Jeremy Corbyn was Labour’s accidental leader in 2015, Starmer wa...

Politics

3 w. ago Labour leadership live: Starmer denies No 10 aides to blame for attack on Streeting

Concerns around Labour Party leadership deepens ahead of Rachel Reeves’s upcoming Budget

Politics

3 w. ago Labour leadership live: Starmer’s aides insist none of them briefed against Streeting

Concerns around Labour Party leadership deepens ahead of Rachel Reeves’s upcoming Budget

Politics

3 w. ago Labour leadership live: Starmer warns aides ‘I’ll fire you’ for briefing against ministers amid Streeting saga

Concerns around Labour Party leadership deepens ahead of Rachel Reeves’s upcoming Budget

Events

3 w. ago Labour leadership latest: Streeting dismisses ‘silly Westminster soap opera’ coup briefings about Starmer ousting

Concerns around Labour Party leadership deepens ahead of Rachel Reeves’s upcoming Budget

Politics

3 w. ago Labour leadership latest: Streeting dismisses ‘silly Westminster soap opera’ coup briefings he wants to oust Starmer

Concerns around Labour Party leadership deepens ahead of Rachel Reeves’s upcoming Budget

Politics

3 w. ago Labour leadership latest: Starmer must find and ‘get rid’ of aide behind Streeting coup leaks, Miliband warns

Concern around the Labour leadership has deepened ahead of Rachel Reeves’s Budget on 26 November

Events

3 w. ago Labour leadership latest: Starmer will ‘get rid’ of aide responsible for Streeting coup leaks, Miliband warns

Concern around the Labour leadership has deepened ahead of Rachel Reeves’s Budget on 26 November

Events

3 w. ago Labour Traitors War: Starmer will sack No10 briefer who tried to 'kneecap' Streeting, says minister

The Health Secretary has slammed Downing Street sources for ‘self-defeating and self-destructive behaviour’

Politics

3 w. ago Keir Starmer leadership chaos as Labour MP says 'Prime Minister employs kids'

Civil war erupted on Wednesday Health Secretary Wes Streeting lashed out at the 'toxic culture' in No10 and one MP compared aides to characters from the Thick of It

Politics