Left-wing group reportedly has numbers required for a leadership challenge
A group of Left-leaning Labour MPs are preparing to move against Sir Keir Starmer. The Tribune Group reportedly has the 80 parliamentarians required to spark a leadership contest.
However, they have not yet decided on a candidate to coalesce around. Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and former transport secretary Loise Haigh have been suggested. The group, made up of MPs on the soft-Left of the party, held its first meeting since being relaunched on Tuesday.
One MP told The Times that the Prime Minister “has shown he doesn’t have the ability” to turn his premiership around after a series of crises.
Another warned that patience within the Parliamentary Labour Party was “wearing thin” with Sir Keir, adding: “It’s all about the polls. We can’t be below 20% at the polls for much longer.
“We can’t carry on like this past May if the elections are as bad as the polls show.”
But another member of the group warned that Labour MPs wanting to oust the PM were living in “cloud-cuckoo-land”.
It came as Sir Keir warned his Cabinet against “distractions” after a week of Labour chaos.
The Prime Minister issued a plea for unity following the briefing war that erupted last week, which suggested Health Secretary Wes Streeting was plotting a leadership challenge.
Sir Keir also used a newspaper interview to insist he would lead Labour into the next general election.
He told the Mirror: “Yes, I will. Let me be really clear – every minute that’s not spent talking about and dealing with the cost of living is a minute wasted of the political work of this Government.
“That’s my response to last week. I remain utterly focused on what matters to me most, which is bearing down on the cost of living and making people feel better off.”
