Sir Keir Starmer is facing a major crisis at the heart of his government after his chief of staff was blamed for a botched effort to prevent a leadership challenge.
The prime minister is under pressure to sack Morgan McSweeney over the pre-emptive attempt to see off any coup to oust Sir Keir, with a series of ministers and Labour MPs privately calling for the No 10 chief of staff to go after a day of chaos that has raised serious questions about the government's future.
Wes Streeting, who was targeted in the briefing as a potential challenger, hit back at suggestions he was planning a tilt at the leadership as he criticised a “toxic culture” in Downing Street.
Asked at the NHS Providers conference in Manchester about Mr McSweeney, the health secretary responded: “I am not going to add to the toxic culture by contributing to the toxic culture and going after individuals. I don’t think that would be a constructive or positive thing to do, and one thing I would say for Morgan McSweeney is there wouldn’t be a Labour government without him.”
As the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, went for the kill in a bruising PMQs, Sir Keir refused to take the opportunity to give Mr McSweeney his firm backing. The lack of endorsement suggests Mr McSweeney was behind the briefing and is now in the line of fire.
A Labour minister told The Independent: “The PM needs to bring in someone that actually knows what they are doing and understands both the politics and the PLP (parliamentary Labour Party). If that means replacement, then fine. If it means alongside, then also fine, but it can’t go on like this.”
Asked about Mr McSweeney’s Downing Street future, one senior Labour figure replied simply: “Toast.”
However, another change of a major role in his top team would be highly damaging for Sir Keir, who sacked his first chief of staff, Sue Gray, a few months after the election and has already lost three directors of communication in under 18 months.
New YouGov polling conducted on Wednesday shows that about half of Britons (51 per cent) say Starmer should stand down as leader of the Labour Party and let someone else take over. Against this, 27 per cent think he should remain and 23 per cent don’t know.
Tony Blair's former director of communications Alastair Campbell said it was inconceivable that Sir Keir would not have known about the briefing, which he denounced as a “cack-handed, stupid move” and “utter madness”. He told Radio 4’s World at One that unless the person responsible “is brought to heel or kicked out, this is going to happen again and again”.
MPs have been calling for Mr McSweeney to go since another blunder over welfare cuts before the summer provoked a massive backbench rebellion. But he has also been credited for Sir Keir’s successful leadership campaign after the departure of Jeremy Corbyn, and the prime minister’s own survival has been closely tied to that of his chief of staff.
However, others claimed that Mr Streeting, defence secretary John Healey, energy secretary Ed Miliband and home secretary Shabana Mahmood were all on manoeuvres in the last few weeks to replace the wounded prime minister.
A website template has been launched at www.wesforleader.com, although Mr Streeting denied being part of any attempted coup. However, pollsters warned that the development had left the Labour Party in a state of “civil war”.
The polling expert Lord Hayward told The Independent: “The speed with which events have moved is quite staggering for any political party, but particularly for the Labour Party, who do not get rid of their leaders.
“This has put the Labour Party in a state of civil war, which it didn't need to have until next May. Labour are now going to have the next six months till the local elections, fighting over the leadership, and what they know they need to do is actually tackle Reform, and, more importantly, they should have been getting the message across about what that are doing to change the country.”
Peter Kellner, a former chair of YouGov, said: “Regarding poll ratings post-Keir, it will depend on whether his successor is able straight away to establish a reputation for being competent and trustworthy. These qualities will matter as much as, and possibly more than, any change in policies."
In a post-PMQs huddle, Downing Street tried to patch up the damage. Repeatedly asked if Sir Keir had confidence in Mr McSweeney, a spokesperson said: “Yes, as expressed in the House.”
The prime minister had said: “Morgan McSweeney, my team and I are absolutely focused on delivering for the country.” But, significantly, he added: “Let me be clear: of course I have never authorised attacks on cabinet members. I appointed them to their posts because they are the best people to carry out their jobs.”
Labour MPs vented their fury at an “epic own goal” by Downing Street which may have made a challenge to Sir Keir more likely.
A veteran MP said: “What a shambles and own goal from No 10. They’ve literally created a story that wasn’t needed and has backfired spectacularly, even those that weren’t Wes Streeting fans are now thinking, what the hell! It’s hugely embarrassing for No 10 but a huge win for Wes. What an epic own goal.”
A senior backbencher said: “This has to stop. Wwe want a government focused on delivery and my constituents believing that they have been listened to with much-needed investment in jobs, skills and new opportunities that benefit those who work hard.”
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