Inside Labour plot to oust Keir Starmer as PM is given 12 months to turn things around
On Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer took everyone by surprise when he suddenly announced a U-turn on Labour’s controversial winter fuel payment cuts. The response to what appeared to be a planted question from a loyal backbencher during Prime Minister’s Questions certainly wrong-footed Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and meant that Labour MPs left the chamber with smiles on their faces.But the shock move came as Sir Keir was having to act to shore up power with MPs, senior party figures and trade unionists who have been openly plotting to remove him.After a turbulent 10 months, the prime minister’s migration announcement earlier this month, where he laid out plans to clamp down on the number of people coming into the UK, was seen as a “watershed moment” for the party – not least because it had echoes of the late right-wing Tory MP Enoch Powell’s infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech.Now, a large number of MPs from the so-called “soft left” of the party are organising to try to force a change of direction, with allies of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner urging her to organise a leadership contest. Keir Starmer signals a partial U-turn on restricting winter fuel payments earlier this week More