FT
Sir Keir Starmer is facing claims from ministers that he is “done” following Downing Street’s self-inflicted leadership crisis, as the prime minister insisted he was not about to sack senior members of his Number 10 team.
One minister told the Financial Times the events of the past few days, during which Downing Street raised the possibility of a Labour leadership challenge, had “brought people together” in opposing Starmer. “I think this week has brought MPs closer together, uniting people against the PM who were previously mutually suspicious,” the minister said. “MPs from a surprising range of factions and camps, many once loyal, are all now talking and saying that Keir is done. They are prepared to take risks for a brave, talented alternative.”
Health secretary Wes Streeting has been identified by some of Starmer’s “allies” as a potential challenger for the Labour leadership, although Downing Street insists nobody inside Number 10 had accused him of plotting a coup. Another minister said Starmer would not be challenged before May’s elections to the Scottish parliament, Welsh senedd and English councils, when Labour is expecting to suffer heavy losses, but a leadership contest was possible after that. A third minister said they thought Starmer is “far less secure than he was at beginning of the week, but I don’t think it’ll finish him”.
While many Labour MPs say privately Starmer’s time in Downing Street is drawing to a close, most agree the prime minister has six months to try to turn around his fortunes. Some have called for him to shake up his Number 10 team. Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, briefed journalists that if Starmer were challenged for the Labour leadership, he would fight to stay on in Downing Street, but has denied naming Streeting. Starmer said he would not launch a formal inquiry to find out who briefed journalists that cabinet ministers were plotting against him, after being “assured” by aides that no Downing Street staff were involved. “Any briefing against ministers is completely unacceptable,” Starmer said. “I have made it very clear to my team. “I will absolutely deal with anybody responsible for briefing against ministers.”
When asked on Thursday if he had confidence in McSweeney, Starmer told reporters: “Of course I do.” Allies of Starmer have insisted they did not deliberately brief journalists against Streeting, but during those discussions they did suggest some of their own MPs had heard rumours of a leadership bid. An ally of the prime minister said “no heads will roll” in Downing Street as a consequence of the botched briefing operation that sparked a wave of headlines about a weakened Starmer facing a coup.
The plots facing Starmer from across the Labour party With the Budget less than two weeks away on November 26, one minister said: “There is no doubt that this was a self-inflicted wound, but we’ve got to move on.” Downing Street officials insisted the row over Starmer’s future would not have any impact on Budget decisions or lead to a watering down of measures to appease Labour MPs. “These are separate things,” one Downing Street adviser said.
However Starmer’s political weakness is already manifesting itself in the run-up to the Budget, with chancellor Rachel Reeves under pressure to yield to demands from Labour MPs to spend £3.5bn on axing the two-child benefit cap. “It was Keir who did that,” one minister said. “He couldn’t say ‘No’ to his MPs.” Earlier on Thursday, Ed Miliband, a former Labour leader who is now energy secretary, criticised the “self-defeating” briefing from Number 10 over Starmer’s leadership. Starmer on Wednesday evening apologised to Streeting, who accused Number 10 aides of trying to “kneecap” him by claiming he was planning a coup against the prime minister.
McSweeney, who directed Labour’s 2024 general election campaign, has told colleagues that it is “categorically not true” that he briefed against Streeting and that while he had said Starmer would fight any leadership challenge, he thought such a move was very unlikely. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025. All rights reserved. Reuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments section