A serving Labour minister has emerged to warn that Keir Starmer “won’t last until Christmas” as the PM’s popularity sinks to a shocking new low. According to Merlin Strategy pollster Scarlett Maguire, Sir Keir’s approval rating as of this morning has now fallen below that of both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
For the first time, however, Sir Keir is now polling worse than even Liz Truss, as 72% of voters say he is doing badly compared to the peak of 71% for the former short-lived Prime Minister. Brutal briefings against the PM continue this morning, as more MPs warn that he will be ousted after next May’s local elections if they go as badly as most predict. Many fear that the Labour Party will be left in pieces after the elections, which could see the party lose power in Wales for the first time since 1999, pushed into third place in Scotland, and lose thousands of councillors.
Unlike this year’s local elections, which were in largely rural Tory-held areas, next May will see Labour forced to defence dozens of urban councils including 16 London boroughs, and cities like Birmingham, Gateshead, Sunderland, Wakefield, Manchester, Wigan and Wolverhampton.
One serving minister went further, warning: “Forget May… this won’t last until Christmas.”
According to The Times, senior government figures have begun referring to the current crisis and scandal and “terminal”.
The Prime Minister suffered another bruising day yesterday, as one of his most senior advisers was forced to quit over explicit emails about Diane Abbott, while questions around his appointment of Peter Mandelson continue to swirl.
Today the Prime Minister will be hammered in a three-hour emergency debate, secured by the Conservatives, about his appointment of Lord Mandelson to the highest diplomatic role in the world.
The Tories will use the debate to once again demand Labour end their “cover-up attempts” and come clean on what Sir Keir Starmer knew about Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and when.
The opposition is demanding the release of all documents, correspondences, vetting advice and submissions relating to Peter Mandelson and his relationship with the world’s most famous paedophile.
Kemi Badenoch blasted: “There are too many unanswered questions around Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador.
“No10’s story keeps changing, meanwhile the public have a right to know the truth about what the Prime Minister and his Chief of Staff knew and when. If Keir Starmer won’t face the music himself, we will use this debate in Parliament to pressure the relevant documents out of No10 and the Government.
“At a moment when Russia is threatening NATO and our economy is flatlining, Keir Starmer is distracted by constant scandal. He needs to stop focusing on Labour Party matters and start acting in the national interest.”
Yesterday Sir Keir said: “Had I known then what I know now, I’d have never appointed him, because what emerged last week were emails, Bloomberg emails which showed that the nature and extent of the relationship that Peter Mandelson had with Epstein was far different to what I had understood to be the position when I appointed him.”