Opposition parties are urging the Speaker of the Commons to refer Sir Keir Starmer to an official parliamentary sleaze inquiry amid claims he misled MPs over the Lord Mandelson scandal
The prime minister is facing mounting criticism from cabinet ministers and MPs over his handling of the crisis before critical elections across the country in two weeks’ time
According to the Telegraph‘senior government sources’ have told the paper that the ‘wheels have stopped turning’ and there’s a ‘sense that it’s over now’.
The combination of the Mandelson affair plus a predicted shellacking at the local elections has rapidly undermined confidence in the PM. Labour’s soft-left, the paper reports, is preparing for a leadership challenge after the locals.
Meanwhile reports in the Independent this morning say that Health Secretary Wes Streeting is trying to form a pact with former Deputy Leader and Greater Manchester MP Angela Rayner should any leadership election take place following the local elections on the 7th May
One Labour MP has suggested they’d like to see a “three-way pact” between Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and Yvette Cooper, with the latter as PM.
The speculation this morning was not helped by the revelation that Keir Starmer messaged Peter Mandelson the night before he announced him as US Ambassador
“You’ll be brilliant in challenging circumstances. And after many years of our discussions, we get to work together side by side. I really look forward to that”
