Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party appears to be seriously faltering. Because there’s dissent in his own ranks. He’s already reported to be thinking of a shadow cabinet shake-up. And the disquiet at the grassroots level is becoming louder and louder.
Mutiny incoming?
First up, the Observer ran a piece on Starmer’s leadership on Sunday 28 March. It reported on several anonymous Labour MPs who were unhappy with the situation. One said:
People do underestimate the mountain of shit Keir inherited. It is a monumental task. But there is a complaint of a lack of grip.
It seems popular socialist policies and a huge membership equate to a “mountain of shit” for some Labour MPs. Another commented:
There is deep frustration in the shadow cabinet over a lack of direction.
Bring back Blair?
The Observer noted that:
Shadow cabinet ministers are understood to be among those who have concerns that Starmer is losing crucial momentum at the end of his first year in office, with several MPs calling for more experience to be injected into his team to spell out “what Keir is for”.
But the solution, it seems, is a joke. The Observer said that these MPs want Starmer “to bring in a “big figure” to provide greater direction to his leadership”. Given that Starmer’s brand of centrism hasn’t so far paid off in the polls, if this “big figure” has a New Labour-like character, it’ll probably make matters worse. So, what’s the leader of the Labour Party’s solution? Sack the UK’s first ever woman shadow chancellor.
Blame everyone else
As Joe wryly reported:
Starmer is set to sack the shadow chancellor of the exchequer Anneliese Dodds, the Times are reporting.
The Labour leader, who has been in the position for just short of a year, will shake up his front bench after local elections in May, in a bid to arrest the party’s continued slump in the polls.
The Times report that Dodds is respected, but will be moved on after failing to effectively communicate the party’s “vision”, which is supposedly a thing that exists.
Oh dear. As The Canary previously wrote, Starmer has repeatedly attempted to rebrand Labour. It seems his next big move is laying the blame for the current shitshow at someone else’s door.
Grassroots disquiet
Meanwhile, at the grassroots level, things are looking just as bad for Starmer.
The Morning Star reported that:
Suspended members across the country are now forming ghost CLPs to form a “national linked-up shadow Labour Party.”
The plan is to resist what is considered to be a purge of the left, according to Labour In Exile Network (LIEN).
LIEN member Terry Deans said the shadow party “will be real Labour, the real grassroots party working on a truly democratic basis.”
Daily carnage
Also, things are heating up in the Hartlepool by-election. The Northern Independence Party (NIP) is making moves:
Northern Independence Party will announce their candidate for Hartlepool at 8pm tonight.
We will be reporting it live as it happens.
— The SKWAWKBOX (@skwawkbox) March 28, 2021
The latest polling shows Labour only has a three point lead over the Tories there. And as if all this wasn’t bad enough, SKWAWKBOX reported that Labour is using old photos of Jeremy Corbyn rallies for campaign material. Except, of course, they’ve removed any reference to the former Labour leader.
Could things become any more dire? Give Starmer a few hours, and something equally bad will probably happen.
Featured image via the Telegraph – YouTube
By Steve Topple
This post was originally published on The Canary.
