37 h. ago ‘They all think Keir is done’: how push to protect Starmer’s job backfired spectacularly

Botched briefing operation was proof to many that PM is leading an ineffectual No 10. How did it go so wrong?If there’s one thing the Labour party can agree on this week, it is that efforts by Keir Starmer’s allies to shore up his position backfired spectacularly.By briefing journalists that he would face down any challenge and accusing Wes Streeting of leading an advanced plot to overthrow him, figures around the prime minister managed only to expose the weakness of his position. Continue reading...

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40 h. ago Who could be behind the phantom briefing and the tax rise that wasn’t? Inspector Starmer is on the case | Marina Hyde

Chaos and ineptitude dog our poor PM. Perhaps the explanation lies (very) close to homeAt this rate the only businesses who will want to invest in Britain after the budget are heroin dealers. No 10 used to have a news grid, now it has an apology grid. Even so, why did Keir Starmer apologise for a sensationally self-destructive round of briefing against Wes Streeting if he didn’t do it? This is like me apologising for accidentally releasing sex offenders from prison. I suppose there is the occasional previous example in public life. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor apologised for his association with Jeffrey Epstein and gave a woman he’d never met a reported £12m. Perhaps that provides the prime minister with the warming cover of precedent.If you’re just joining us, this is a week in which the government finally achieved the chaos spiral of several recent Conservative administrations. We can now officially say: same car, different clowns. We are less than two weeks out from the budget, wit...

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44 h. ago Streeting says he and Starmer ‘extremely frustrated’ by leadership row

Health Secretary Wes Streeting was targeted by briefings suggesting he was plotting a coup against Sir Keir Starmer.

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53 h. ago Keir Starmer clears his chief of staff over 'toxic' briefings that branded his own MPs 'feral' despite growing calls for him to be sacked

The Prime Minister cleared Morgan McSweeney without even holding an investigation after he was accused of being at the centre of a disastrous briefing operation against Wes Streeting.

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61 h. ago Starmer defies calls to sack chief of staff, claiming briefing didn’t come from No 10

PM is standing by chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, despite calls to sack himKeir Starmer has attempted to draw a line under extraordinary briefings by his allies that No 10 feared Wes Streeting could launch a leadership coup, insisting he had been reassured it “didn’t come from Downing Street”.The prime minister gathered his senior staff to stress that briefings against cabinet ministers were “unacceptable” after apologising to Streeting for what had happened on Wednesday. Continue reading...

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62 h. 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

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63 h. ago Starmer can’t afford to sack McSweeney, MPs say as new year coup rumours swirl

The prime minister says he has been ‘assured’ nobody in Downing Street briefed against his health secretary amid claims chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is ‘unsackable’

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64 h. 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

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65 h. ago Anas Sarwar hits out at Downing Street briefers 'undermining' Labour government led by Keir Starmer

Anas Sarwar has accused Downing Street briefers of “undermining” the message of the Labour UK government.

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65 h. ago Anas Sarwar blasts “deeply unhelpful” and “unacceptable” Downing Street briefing war

The Scottish Labour leader hit out after over 24 hours of chaos at the heart of the UK Government.

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65 h. 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

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66 h. ago Minister says police and crime commissioners will be abolished in 2028 because system has failed – UK politics live

Elected policing roles will be phased out and their powers transferred to mayors in England in move that could save £100mPA Media has more on what the monthly performance figures from NHS England show. PA says:The data shows 180,329 people in England had been waiting more than a year to start routine hospital treatment at the end of September, down from 190,549 at the end of August.Some 2.4% of people on the list for hospital treatment had been waiting more than 52 weeks in September, down from 2.6% the previous month.The NHS waiting list is 230,000 lower than July last year, even as the health service ‘approaches its limit’ with A&E and ambulances facing record demand ahead of winter.The overall waiting list for September was 7.39m (an estimated 6.24m patients) down 15,845 compared to the previous month and 230,000 fewer than July 2024.Thanks to the investment and modernisation this government has made, waiting lists are falling and patients are being treated sooner The past ye...

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67 h. ago Streeting refuses to discuss ‘silly Westminster soap opera’ after briefing row

The Health Secretary, who was the subject of coup rumours, said he did not care whether Sir Keir Starmer was investigating the source of the claims.

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67 h. 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

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67 h. 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

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69 h. ago Starmer 'will be next' if chief aide Morgan McSweeney is forced out over No10 briefing war

Ministers have insisted the PM will hold an investigation into the apparent pre-emptive strike on leadership manoeuvring by Wes Streeting - and fire whoever was responsible.

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2 d. ago Ed Miliband urges Labour to move on after Starmer apologises to Streeting for hostile briefings from No 10 – UK politics live

Fallout from extraordinary briefing operation against Wes Streeting continues as calls grow for Starmer to sack his chief of staff Morgan McSweeneyGood morning. In an interview around this time yesterday morning, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said that if Keir Starmer were to ring him about the anti-Streeting briefing by Starmer allies reported by the Guardian and others on Tuesday, Streeting would reply: “Why are you bothering with this.” It was an attempt to play down a new episode of Labour turmoil that has turned out to counter-productive for Starmer, but helpful for Streeting, and by the time the two men did speak last night, the conversation took a different tone.Starmer apologised to Streeting, journalists have been told. The conversation was short, and they did not discuss Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, whom Starmer is now under pressure to sack. The pair also agreed they would speak again soon – which doesn’t mean much (they both attend cabinet, and have...

Politics

2 d. 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’

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3 d. ago Starmer investigates briefing war as pressure on chief of staff grows

The Prime Minister was forced to condemn briefings against his Cabinet after reports about a possible Wes Streeting coup.

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3 d. ago Sir Keir Starmer apologises to Wes Streeting for briefing war as 'attack completely unacceptable'

The Health Secretary earlier hit out at the “toxic culture” of No 10

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