By refusing to resign, Keir Starmer is doing what's best for Britain. Whoever said we want to be led by Wes Streeting, Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, or Ed Miliband? Facing down a coup attempt, the prime minister is at last showing the country he has what it takes, says Sean O'Grady.
So, he's faced them down. It seems that Keir Starmer is proving to be as obstinate and awkward as his father, the most famous toolmaker in history, used to be. We cannot know, but the prime minister may even have listened to his 'absolute rock', Victoria, and decided to fight on and fight to win.
The PM's stubbornness in front of his rivals in cabinet (and beyond) is unchanged from his Monday speech: Labour had promised not to be self-indulgent like the Conservatives, his going would solve nothing and would cause bond markets to panic, and a seventh prime minister in a decade is not in the national interest. As Starmer used to say, he puts 'party before country'. He has heard what his rebel MPs have been saying, listened to them, argued back, refused to budge, and effectively dared the doubters in his cabinet to quit.
In the end, there is nothing they can do to force him out, except to gather 81 signatures of Labour MPs to launch a leadership challenge. 'Come and get me if you think you're hard enough' is the attitude. It must be said, it didn't quite work for Boris Johnson when his government disintegrated under him with mass resignations, but we shall see. In this case, the Labour Party rulebook is a defensive iron dome against swarmed drone attacks from backbenchers. They just bounce off the prime minister. So much for being 'weak'.
There were signs. Watching the cabinet arrive in Downing Street for the most consequential session in years, the theatrical aspects were revealing. David Lammy and Lord Hermer looked ridiculously happy, as if they were about to join a victory party. Starmer's Praetorian guard, Liz Kendall and Peter Kyle, were sunnier than they had any right to be. By contrast, Rachel Reeves' official car appeared to almost drive into No 11 so she wouldn't have to react to reporters' shouted questions – uncharacteristic shyness that told its own story. Then came Wes Streeting, looking grim-visaged, far from his usual chirpy self, possibly contemplating a Heseltine-style resignation-by-walkout.
Starmer's gambit may not yet work. If things go as some fear, before long the King will send for his fourth prime minister in his short reign. Starmer's 'interim' replacement would probably be David Lammy, who would then give way to a permanent prime minister selected by about 300,000 entirely unrepresentative Labour activists in an internecine war lasting months. Without supposed favourite Andy Burnham unable to take part, it won't even settle the leadership issue. That is just as offensive as when some 140,000 Conservative Party members foisted Liz Truss on us in September 2022.
We know Starmer 'came up on the doorstep' in last week's elections, and a lot of Reform voters despise him. But there will be many people wondering why and under whose authority Starmer has been deposed after less than two years in office. Who says the British want to be led by Wes Streeting, Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, or Ed Miliband (who they rejected once already in 2015)? This Labour Party promised an end to psychodrama. They will not be forgiven for inflicting another one on the country. They've actually got more important things to do.
