Faithful or traitor? Labour’s leadership crisis unfolds 

Wes Streeting’s reference to Celebrity Traitors yesterday, as leadership rumours swirled at Westminster, was apt. While he insisted that he was, and always had been, a ‘faithful’, many Labour MPs spent the day advancing fanciful theories, accusing each other of treachery, and generally shooting themselves in the foot – much like the hapless celebrities at Claudia’s round table.   

The episode began late on Tuesday night, when several media outlets, supposedly briefed by allies of the Prime Minister, reported that Sir Keir Starmer was ready to “fight any challenge”. The names of senior cabinet members – Wes Streeting, Shabana Mahmood, and Ed Miliband – were all whispered as potential challengers. Intended as a show of strength, designed to quash any leadership ambitions, the message instead led to headlines about paranoia inside No. 10.  

It enabled Wes Streeting, prime target of the briefing and always a strong communicator, to condemn the toxic atmosphere at No. 10 and to call upon the Prime Minister to sack those responsible. Then, when Starmer insisted he had not authorised such behaviour, his statement was weaponised by Kemi Badenoch, who argued it showed Starmer had “lost control of Downing Street”. That line hit home and will likely be used to good effect in the future.  

Labour backbenchers were left in despair, with one quoted as saying, “They fired a starting gun by mistake, and firing a gun in the Alps is not the best idea”. 

Behind the scenes, Labour MPs have been voicing concerns for a while about Starmer’s grip on the party amid dire poll numbers and fears that the upcoming Budget could trigger a backlash over tax rises. Keir Starmer’s personal ratings have collapsed: Ipsos recently found just 13% were satisfied with his performance and 79% dissatisfied, giving him a net score of -66, the worst for any Prime Minister since records began. Opinium polling is equally grim: 56% of voters think he should resign, and even among Labour’s 2024 voters, a third agree. 

The party’s standing is no better. Labour now languishes in fourth place nationally, behind Reform UK, the Greens, and the Conservatives, with just 15% in support, according to Find Out Now. At the beginning of the year, Labour sat just one percentage point behind Reform and ahead of the Conservatives. 

It is perhaps no surprise then that whispers of a leadership challenge have grown louder and the impulse to react to those whispers has grown stronger. This month’s Budget, with the prospect of manifesto-busting tax rises, combined with an uptick in the unemployment numbers and today’s sluggish growth figures, all add to the pressure for change. Labour MPs are jittery.  

If one seismic moment is a couple of weeks away, then another looms next May, with local election results expected to be disastrous for Labour: fiefdoms in Wales, Scotland and London are all under threat, from both the right and left. No one will want to carry the can for those results but, could change now save the party in six months’ time? That is a question under serious consideration by some within the party. 

Whether your instinct is to steady the ship under Starmer or gamble on a new captain, one thing is certain: for a party that promised competence and calm – despite its record of internal feuding – this is a dangerous look. And recent history reveals that fratricide rarely ends well. 

But before we get too carried away, it’s worth considering the how in all this. Any challenger for the leadership needs to be nominated by at least 20% (81) of Labour MPs for an election to be triggered. That is a tall order, given the factions at play within the party. The quick extinguishing of Andy Burnham’s flame earlier in the autumn shows there is little appetite for a leadership contest in the short term. 

For now, Starmer’s best defence is performance: delivering on his policy promises and demonstrating he has a grip over government machinery. If the party looks inward while the country looks for answers, the damage will be self-inflicted. 

As Claudia herself might put it: “Faithfuls, you’re breaking my heart. You are not getting it, what are you not seeing?”.