Starmer speech latest: PM fights for survival as leadership rivals Rayner and Streeting circle

Former Foreign Office minister Catherine West has said she will launch a bid to challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership if she is still “dissatisfied” after his speech.

She has drawn criticism from former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson, whose resignation as a junior minister in 2006 played a key role in toppling Tony Blair.

In a post on Substack, Lord Watson dismissed Ms West’s plan as “amateur dramatics”, saying: “MPs and former MPs in the Lords are not judges on Strictly Come Dancing.”

He added: “Of course Labour MPs are entitled to be angry. The results were grim and the warning signs are real. But a governing party cannot conduct itself as though every poor weekend of coverage requires a fresh regicide timetable.”

Defence minister Al Carns is quietly been talked up by a number of Labour MPs as a potential leadership contender.

The former Royal Marines commander was only elected in 2024 but supporters have told The Independent that they are putting together a team for him if there is a leadership contest.

As Sir Keir Starmer prepares to give a speech to save his premiership this morning, Mr Carns has yet to endorse him.

But he did greet the day with a post on X with a picture of a new dawn.

Sir Keir Starmer is set to promise sweeping changes as he battles to save his job on Monday.

The prime minister will say: “To meet the challenges that our country faces, incremental change won’t cut it.

“On growth, defence, Europe, energy – we need a bigger response than we anticipated in 2024 because these are not ordinary times.

“Strength through fairness. It’s a core Labour argument. And you will see those values writ large in the King’s Speech. And you will see hope, urgency and exactly whose side we are on.”

Sir Keir has acknowledged the early part of his premiership was too gloomy, with ministers setting out the parlous state of the economy and public services they inherited without sufficiently highlighting plans to improve people’s lives.

“People need hope,” he will say. “We will face up to the big challenges and we will make the big arguments.”

Sir Keir will highlight his efforts to build new ties with Brussels, saying: “This Labour Government will be defined by rebuilding our relationship and by putting Britain at the heart of Europe. So that we are stronger on the economy, on trade, on defence, you name it.

“Because standing shoulder to shoulder with the countries that most share our interests, our values and our enemies – that is the right choice for Britain, that is the Labour choice.”

Local elections in England have seen Labour lose more than a thousand councillors and control of dozens of councils across the country.

The party’s grip on London has also been severely weakened, with Labour losing control of nearly half of the 21 boroughs they previously held in the capital, after a strong showing from Zack Polanski’s Green Party.

Read the full article here:

It has been reported in Politico that Andy Burnham’s allies have formulated a plan to return him to Westminster, with a specific MP willing to stand down to trigger a by-election.

The Greater Manchester mayor was blocked from running as an MP earlier this year, and is viewed as a threat to Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership.

The report says that the identity of the MP is being kept as a “closely guarded secret”.

If Wes Streeting wanted to run for Prime Minister he would not be spending his weekend watching The Devil Wears Prada 2 in the cinema, a Cabinet minister has suggested.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News he was campaigning with the Health Secretary in Ilford “last weekend”, adding: “After we campaigned, we went for dinner and we went and saw a movie together.

“Somebody who is planning to pull the plug and launch a leadership bid in a couple of days’ time doesn’t go to the cinema with a friend.”

Asked what film they watched, he said “Devil Wears Prada”, later describing it as “good” and “fun”.

Mr Kyle also said: “Wes and I are very good friends, but I’m not going to fall into the trap of being his spokesperson, but what I can tell you is that he, like me, is focused on the success of this Government.

“His primary mission in Government is making sure the whole Government is a success and he is there for Keir when he needs him.”

Analysis from our political editor David Maddox:

Keir Starmer knows what is at stake when he gets up this morning to make what will have to be the speech of his life.

Already Labour MPs are baying for him to set a timetable for his departure or just quit after the dreadful election results last week and months of a faltering premiership which has failed spectacularly to take advantage of the massive election victory in 2024.

Added to that one former minister, Catherine West, has vowed to start a leadership contest to get him out while his former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has issued an ultimatum making it clear that this is his “last chance”.

For many it is already too late for the prime minister to save himself but he will be hoping that one last reset from many he has performed already can rescue the dire situation and provide him with a semblance of authority.

The trail for the speech was not as inspiring as he may need.

This is a man who has proven he is no great orator on many occasions before and it seems unlikely that at this stage a promise to reverse Brexit will be enough for Labour MPs who want his blood.

But as we head to the King’s speech on Wednesday this will be the start of a crucial 48 hours where Sir Keir will survive or fall depending on what he says.

Labour MP and former parliamentary private secretary to former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, Navendu Mishra, said the prime minister should set out a timetable for an “orderly transition” to give leadership hopefuls time to come forward.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Mishra said such a move would allow the “best people” in the Labour Party time to “put forward their vision”.

Asked whether he was referring to Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, Mr Mishra said: “I think he’s done some really good things in my constituency of Stockport, and in Greater Manchester, and he has the experience of a previous Labour government, having served in senior roles including in the cabinet.”

Asked about a potential leadership bid from Ms Rayner, he added: “Look, I think she’s from Stockport… if you look at her achievements coming from Stockport, as a trade unionist, a Stockport trade unionist, I think are phenomenal.”

Cabinet minister Peter Kyle said Sir Keir Starmer is “the right person that needs to lead us through this” as he defended the Prime Minister remaining in place.

The business secretary said he accepts people are “fed-up” following last week’s elections, adding: “Our party is convulsed by the results.”

He told Times Radio: “He is the right person that needs to lead us through this. He needs to really meet the moment that we’re in. We all need to support him in that, because he can’t do it alone.

“And I’ve said this consistently since opposition, that too often people look to him as one person that can fix every problem.”

Pressed on whether he wants eight more years of Sir Keir at the helm, Mr Kyle said: “I want eight years of delivering for the people of this country, led by the prime minister that we have now, that is actually delivering.

“He has faced so many challenges in office, he has met the moment so many times when it comes to the challenges we face on the international scene, fixing our public services, leading a Cabinet that is delivering, but we recognise that people want more urgency.”

More politicians need to “say it like it is” to try to combat the rise of Nigel Farage and Reform, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The former SNP leader said that Reform – who are now the joint second largest party in the Scottish Parliament with 17 MSPs – had not done as well in the Holyrood election as she had “feared” they might.

Speaking about the party, led in Scotland by Lord Malcolm Offord, Ms Sturgeon said: “They did not perform as strongly as many people, including me, feared they would on Thursday.”

However she added her “fear” is that the new group of Reform MSPs could be will “try to undermine” the Scottish Parliament and “try to be disruptive and just drag politics down”.

The former SNP leader also criticised the “inability of many politicians” on what is “broadly the left of politics” to answer “straightforward questions in a straightforward way”.

Ms Sturgeon, who was Scotland’s longest serving first minister, added: “They sound as if they are trying to speak without saying anything.”

Speaking after stepping down as an MSP, she urged politicians to “stand up and make the positive case for the things you believe in”.