Now many Labour MPs no longer believe their leader will become prime minister, expect the muttering to grow louder
Before the chaos of the past five days, there were already growing doubts among Labour MPs about Keir Starmer’s leadership – but until now, these worries were largely muffled by relief that anyone other than Jeremy Corbyn was running the party. That has now changed.
For MPs, the belief that Labour may be headed for government imposes an anxious discipline: a leader holding the prospect of political power is like someone carrying a priceless vase that the smallest misstep could shatter. What quiets the party’s warring factions, if only for a time, is the fear of toppling the vase.
