What we are seeing this morning is the jockeying on the expected start line of a race to be the next prime minister. The manoeuvring is on view from every corner of the party.
Supporters of the prime minister — including Chancellor Rachel Reeves on BBC Breakfast — warn that opening a contest now would plunge the country into chaos while global tensions persist and the government’s economic plan is only beginning to show results. Sir Keir Starmer and his backers say a leadership fight would be irresponsible and could paralyse government business for months.
At the same time, allies of Health Secretary Wes Streeting are talking up an imminent challenge, even as rival camps brief that he has struggled to secure the number of backers he needs to launch a credible bid. The former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has been conducting a series of interviews that keep her name in the frame.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham remains on the fringes, effectively marooned outside Parliament. For him to join any immediate contest he would need to find a seat, persuade the party to let him stand and hope the timing of a contest allows his participation.
Another figure now getting attention is defence minister Al Carns, who recently wrote in the New Statesman about the party’s problems and has long been viewed as having leadership ambitions. In his essay he argued: “Working-class voters have not simply left Labour. Many feel Labour stopped understanding their lives and so they looked elsewhere.”
Meanwhile the prime minister and his supporters show no sign of stepping back. With camps divided over timing and tactics, and would-be contenders still testing support, it could be a fractious day ahead for the party.
