𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Keir Starmer is not having a good year, mired in scandal and now having faced a drubbing at the ballot box with the Green Party snatching a seat that historically has always been Labour. Starting out the year struggling to stave of accusations of u-turns, and then running headlong into the Lord Mandelson scandal, Sir Keir’s year is going from bad to worse.

And his troubles are far from over, as a weakened Prime Minister is bound to face further challenges, here’s five the embattled PM could be up against sooner than he thinks.

Nobody wants to head into yet more elections when your party is polling at such lacklustre figures. In just a matter of months Labour are set for another round of pummelling, but this time across the whole country. Thousands of local councillors will face the ballot box, at all-out elections in London, Wales and across England.

It looks very likely that the Green Party could once again make large gains here, hoovering up votes from disaffected former-Labour voters concerned about a Reform win. Nigel Farage’s party could likewise gain big, and are reported to be seeking to unseat Tory councillors across the country and even take control of several outer London authorities.

Labour MPs have smelt blood in the water for months. With the Lord Mandelson scandal practically chucking a bucket of chum over the side, the defeat in Gorton & Denton could send many of them scrabbling to no-confidence Sir Keir. However, it may be tough to find someone willing to stick their head over the sandbags before the May elections have been and gone.

After all, if they strike too early it could be Sir Keir’s successor who has to carry the can for possible the May wipeout. Yet it is clear from the mood inside the party that senior figures are getting restless, and are keen to see a change and perhaps even try their own luck at running the party to see if they can turn their fortunes around.

A resurgent Green Party makes for an attractive prospect to more on-the-left MPs within Labour itself. Terrified about losing their own seats and increasingly concerned the party is drifting away from their values, Sir Keir may start to see some of his own MPs making some rather drastic personal career moves.

Of course, it depends on whether Green Party leader Zack Polanski would take in any Labour runaways, but he hasn’t ruled it out in the past. There has been talk spinning around Westminster for some time that some of the less loyal backbenchers, a tad more vocal about their disaffection, have long been considering the move.

Ensure our latest politics headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

4. An internal push to the left

Keen not to allow the Greens to dominate turf Labour have long considered sacred, some factions within the party may now seek to yank the party further to the left. Sir Keir, who has made no bones about trying to position himself as the sensible moderate (to varying degrees of success) may now be wrangling to hold onto the reins as his own MPs seek to yank the party back to the left even more.

If there’s too much talk of a weakened PM, his own critics within the party will become bolder and bolder – after all, what exactly can a weak Prime Minister do to tackle the malcontents? To many speaking out could hasten the rot, and make the Prime Minister appear even less in control of his own party that he already is.

Battling forces from without and within, the Prime Minister will need to find something pretty spectacular to turn his fortunes around.