𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

That scraping sound you can hear coming from Downing Street is Keir Starmer’s nails down the staircase bannister as he clings to power. How the Prime Minister can’t see he is finished with his historically low popularity figures of 18% is beyond me. Even American left-wing CNN TV hosts openly mock him.

No US President has slumped that low with its electorate, not even Nixon just before he resigned, following the infamous Watergate scandal. The die is cast. Starmer’s days are numbered. Keir’s lack of vision, his indecision and downright sleazy appointments has made sure of that. The only thing keeping him in place right now is that the frontrunners to replace him are even worse – net zero nut job Ed Miliband, alleged property tax avoider Ange Rayner and Mandelson’s protege Wes Streeting.

What a sample. Nevertheless, after the shellacking Labour are heading for on Thursday in the local, Scottish and Welsh elections, his MPs will wake up Friday morning realising they have no alternative but to get shut of busted flush Starmer, and rally around someone new.

As John Redwood correctly predicted in his slogan when challenging John Major for the Conservative leadership in 1995 – “No change, no chance”.

Starmer worked hard last week to try to get ahead of this week’s forthcoming disastrous election results. His whips twisted the arms of their backbenchers to prevent him having to go before the Privileges committee to answer questions on Mandelson and got Labour loyalists at PMQs to sing his praises.

Starmer got his top team leaking a reshuffle was on its way, dangling the carrot for Keir’s toadies to join the junior ministerial ranks and a path to the Cabinet for the thrusting and ambitious. But no amount of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic will help the Prime Minister, not even the extraordinary rumours of him booting Reeves out as Chancellor and replacing her with Rayner. The public knows Starmer’s a dud. From Golders Green where this weekend chants on the news of “Keir Starmer, Jew Harmer” could be heard, to football grounds – where more colourful refrains are chanted – everyone knows the PM is toast.

I don’t believe the Wind Bag of the North, Andy Burnham, is going to rescue Labour. He’s a two-time Labour leader contender loser, and as lacking in belief as Starmer. The smart money for next Labour leader is on Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, who could make a late entry into the race – loyal enough to Starmer to stay in the Cabinet, sly enough to succeed him.

The truth is whoever takes over from Starmer is only a caretaker. This Labour government has inflicted so much harm on the country the public wants to see the back of them. Thursday’s elections will show just how much the country wants to see them all gone.