The resignation of Tulip Siddiq as Treasury minister will shake the House of Starmer.
To lose any minister is unfortunate – but to say goodbye to a key figure in the Treasury at a time of economic turmoil is wounding.
This is doubly painful for the Prime Minister because Siddiq is a genuine friend in the often lonely world of Westminster. Their families reportedly holidayed together but – at least for now – her time in Government is over.
Sir Keir has already said goodbye to his chief of staff, Sue Gray, and lost Louise Haigh as his transport secretary. Now he has one less ally in Government, just as he is stamping on speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could be shown the door.
Once again, there will be alarm on the Labour backbenches that the Government has got itself into such a mess.
Was there no sharp-eye Alastair Campbell-type figure who could see this debacle coming? Did Sir Keir’s team do due diligence or is Britain run, yet again, by a chumocracy?
Embarrassingly for the Government, Ms Siddiq’s exit follows calls by charities for her to step aside from her anti-corruption role at the Treasury. The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition claimed the minister had a “serious conflict of interests”.
She was in hot water from the moment she was named by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission into her aunt, deposed PM Sheikh Hasina.
In her resignation statement, she said that continuing in her role at the Treasury would be a “distraction” from the work of the Government. That is an understatement.
Sir Keir struck a gracious tone when he accepted her resignation, stressing that “no evidence of financial improprieties” on her part had been found. But the ongoing investigation into the corruption allegations in Bangladesh will make headlines for months.
The mood will be foul in Downing Street. On Saturday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called for Ms Siddiq to be sacked.
In gruesome parlance of Westminster, Mrs Badenoch has a scalp.
Sir Keir will look around his cabinet table and wonder where the next scandal will erupt. With the economy spluttering and his leadership skills and political judgement in question, he may well fear the worst is yet to come.
