𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Keir Starmer is a broken man. You can see it in his face when he duels with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch in Parliament every week. The fight has gone out of him.

But the Prime Minister has one last desperate throw of the dice. He plans to bring his arch-rival Angela Rayner back into the Cabinet, and hopes some of her stardust will rub off on him.

Sir Keir, however, is making a mistake. Ms Rayner will have him for breakfast.

She can see what the Prime Minister appears to miss. There is nothing he can now do to rebuild his shattered reputation. His time is up, while Angela Rayner doesn’t need to play second fiddle to anyone.

Sir Keir’s period in No 10 has been a litany of disasters. He tried to cut payments for pensions, but then changed his mind. He tried to cut disability benefits, but U-turned. He imposed inheritance tax on family farms, threatening to drive them out of business, but carried out a partial U-turn on that too.

It’s true that some of the blame lies with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, but Sir Keir is ultimately in charge.

His foreign policy has also made him look weak and foolish.

Many people will support his decision to keep the UK out of Donald Trump’s war on Iran, but when Iran chose to lash out in all directions anyway, the UK was woefully unprepared to defend our military bases and allies.

Sir Keir’s best hope of clinging on to power, at least until the next general election comes along, is to ensure there is nobody to replace him.

Right now, the only people who can force the Prime Minister to stand down are Labour MPs, and make no mistake – they are in despair at how inept he turned out to be. But they are stuck with him until an alternative candidate emerges.

Options include Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, but he’s no threat until he finds a way to return to Westminster as an MP.

There’s also Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, regarded as one of the most charismatic and competent members of the Government. But Mr Streeting isn’t Left-wing enough for some Labour activists. He was also friendly with Peter Mandelson in the past, which may cause him problems.

That leaves the biggest threat of them all – Angela Rayner.

Ms Rayner is popular with the party membership. And after a period outside of the limelight, following a row over stamp duty, she’s back with a bang.

She helped lead a rebellion over the two-child benefit cap, led calls for the Government to allow a Commons committee to see the so-called Mandelson files in full, and now is speaking out about immigration reforms.

By all accounts, Sir Keir is planning to neutralise her by offering a role in his Cabinet, in a reshuffle after the May 7 elections.

That might, perhaps, encourage Left-wing Labour MPs and activists who like Ms Rayner to support the Government.

It could also stop her plotting against the PM, because she would be bound by collective Cabinet responsibility. At least, that is the plan.

But it won’t work. Ms Rayner won’t be happy as Sir Keir’s underling. She wants a new prime minister, because she believes Keir Starmer has had his chance – and blown it.

This is what she meant in a speech earlier this month, when she said: “The very survival of the Labour Party is at stake – as a party and a movement we cannot hide, we cannot go through the motions in the face of decline. We are running out of time.”

Angela Rayner isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but she’s a smart politician. She knows that things have gone too far for a simple change of direction to solve Labour’s problems. What’s needed is a change of leader.

If Sir Keir thinks he can put a muzzle on her, he’s in for a shock.