Keir Starmer Faces Prime Minister's Questions as Accounts Indicate No 10 Briefing on Leadership Challenges Has Backfired

Observers note extensive discussion this morning regarding the Downing Street communications reported last night, and the response it has provoked. Among journalists who have been consulting Labour MPs, the general view is that the approach has failed, and undermined Keir Starmer’s position within his party.

Significant Responses from Political Figures

• The BBC’s chief political correspondent has written an analysis captioned “Efforts to bolster Starmer’s position may have failed.” He says:

The central question this morning is whether the briefings have made Sir Keir increasingly or decreasingly vulnerable.

Judging by the rancour of the comments I have received from multiple parts of the Labour Party, the definitive answer is: more vulnerable.

One high-ranking Labour source queried why Sir Keir’s supporters had “normalised what was a forbidden subject” by publicly discussing the possibility of a bid for power …

An MP remarked the tactic was “utterly reckless and self-destructive,” commenting: “They are in the fortress targeting everyone who’s excluded from the fortress protecting it. And unfortunate clueless Keir doesn’t even realise he’s in the bunker.”

• The Guardian’s deputy political editor says Labour MPs are staggered by the No 10 approach.

Received at least 10 messages from Labour MPs overnight all on the same theme. “Why are they doing?”

• A political commentator notes that, although there are people in No 10 asserting to have hard evidence that Wes Streeting was scheming against Starmer, Labour MPs are not swayed.

Streeting’s actions, as earlier noted, have certainly garnered much scrutiny in recent months. Whether pushing for the UK to immediately accept a Palestinian state back in June or criticising assertions that the far right is merely exercising “liberty to speak”, he has been happy to go against the party stance. His praise for New York mayor Zohran Mamdani (“models for progressives the world over”) also caused surprise and was seen as part of a intentional endeavor to attract the soft left.

But nothing here, of course, constitutes direct betrayal – and here’s the issue No 10 will have to answer today: if it has hard evidence that Streeting is scheming against Starmer, why is he still serving in the ministry?

The threat for Downing Street is evident: it has significantly heightened the leadership question, giving every MP and journalist in the country a new reason to pose it. Rather than quelling speculation over Starmer’s future – as it was able in the aftermath of Labour conference – it has encouraged it. And instead of bringing together the party around the Prime Minister it threatens only accomplishing the contrary.

• ITV’s political editor says some MPs may avoid PMQs today out of protest.

From a Labour MP who makes an effort to be loyal to the PM and Downing Street, but feels badly let down by the internecine politics of the group around Starmer:

“Some Labour MPs are considering boycotting PMQs today in dissent at the strategy. If the PM thinks we are undisciplined and too stupid to understand economics, then why on earth would we go out and support him?”

• Patrick Maguire notes Streeting is gaining.

Senior Labour source writes: “They have achieved the impossible: they have made Wes favored with the ordinary MPs.

• The Telegraph’s political editor says MPs have been influenced by Streeting’s performances this morning.

The irony this morning: If the Starmer supporter statements were an endeavor to sap the momentum out of a Wes Streeting below-the-radar push for power it seems to have done the opposite for some people.

Streeting’s primary advantage is his skill as a communicator and handling easily the morning circuit with charm (jokes about Traitors and JFK conspiracies when asked about plotting) may have just emphasized that point.

“Wes is now more favored because he is so poised,” says one minister. “He left me astonished in answering every question frankly and with charm.”

Another minister agrees Streeting’s showing has just reiterated people what a skilled media performer he is.

• George Parker says in an piece this morning No 10 has caused a situation.

One minister called it the “one of the weirdest communication choices I have ever seen” and on Wednesday recriminations were spreading in Downing Street after Sir Keir Starmer’s team conjured up a problem over leadership out of nothing, just two weeks before the Budget.

Tuesday’s briefing from inside Number 10 that Starmer would contest any leadership challenge transformed informal Westminster gossip into a political crisis, as the prime minister displayed the weakness of his own situation.

Further Political Updates

A key points cited by those in No 10 who have been stating about the dangers of a leadership challenge has been that this would worry the markets. This reflects the point made by the chancellor, when she was interviewed by Andrew Marr on LBC last week and asked if she would resign if she broke the manifesto promise on taxes in the budget. Reeves responded: "And what do you think would happen in investment circles if I did that?”

In an interview on the Today programme this morning, Luke Tryl, said that reasoning like this were very damaging to the political parties making them. He explained:

I think there’s a significant risk to that argument, because what it does is it strengthens what we call ‘the politics of cannot’. So rather than the administration being seen to be in command and have a positive agenda, it’s instead the government continually claiming, ‘We cannot do this because of the financial markets’, or ‘We can’t do this on immigration because of things like the European court of human rights.’

And what that does in return is it makes people turn to leaders who are doing the “approach of can’t.

And what you see is people like Nigel Farage in Reform or Zack Polanski in the Greens are saying ‘No, no, we’ll do something entirely alternative and put government back in charge.’

Forthcoming Occasions

9.45am: The Lib Dem deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson presents a address about her group’s economic policies.

Noon: Keir Starmer faces the Conservative leader at PMQs.

After 12.30pm: MPs debate two Tory opposition day motions, one arguing taxes should not go up in the budget, and another arguing the government should remove eco-taxes on energy bills.

{1.45pm