With their plan to defend their boss, the Starmer allies echoed the mistake that Kevin Rudd’s office made in June 2010 when the then-prime minister’s advisers called Labor MPs to test their loyalty in a potential contest with Julia Gillard, the deputy prime minister at the time.
When The Sydney Morning Herald revealed those calls on its front page, Gillard reacted by interpreting the briefings as an act of disloyalty by Rudd. History was written by the minute that day. Gillard challenged and Rudd admitted defeat that night.
The blundering in Westminster is different: Starmer’s allies were on a mission to brief journalists about the leadership, not canvass MPs about a vote. The common factor was the needless provocation of a potential challenger.
Streeting responded carefully in television interviews on Wednesday morning. He declared his loyalty to Starmer. But he also suggested the advisers who were briefing journalists should be driven out of the prime minister’s office.
Starmer declared his support for Streeting and said he did not authorise the attacks on cabinet ministers. But the briefings were anonymous, of course, and were described in the media as coming from Downing Street. This will only spread suspicion and bad blood.
While the government tried to show unity, the astonishing day highlighted three broad questions about its future.
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The first is about Starmer’s political judgment. The prime minister has shuffled advisers in and out of Downing Street since winning power last year but his office never seems to stabilise. Is he unlucky with staff? Or is he the problem?
The second is about Starmer’s replacement. No Labour cabinet minister has emerged with a claim to lead Labour out of its slump in the opinion polls and give it a new sense of mission. Only 27 per cent of voters have a positive view of Starmer, according to polling firm YouGov. One Labour figure, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, is on 34 per cent but he is inexperienced and not in parliament. None of the others are popular. This alone means Starmer probably stays.
Streeting, with his adroit response to this storm, may end up building his national profile and gaining support among Labour MPs for the future.
The third question is about whether this government can actually achieve what Starmer claims to be his mission: national renewal. Britain is becalmed and waiting for leadership. Labour, meanwhile, is riven by conflict. Too many of its MPs look panicked and too many of its advisers look inept.
In turning the spotlight on themselves they only highlight the doubts about whether they deserve their jobs.
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