Rival Labour factions understood to be discussing how to remove Keir Starmer as leader
Labour figures from across rival factions have begun circulating informal proposals for an “orderly transition” of power away from Keir Starmer, the Guardian understands.MPs have shifted discussions from speculating about whether the prime minister could be removed to how – including timelines, potential triggers and the mechanics of forcing a leadership contest.One Labour MP said: “There have been conversations about process.When the time comes, and if the numbers are there, a process will be found.”With no formal mechanism to remove a sitting prime minister, attention has turned to how political pressure can be applied, with one senior party source warning poor local election results could trigger junior ministerial resignations, which would provide “cover for someone to come out from behind”.
Starmer has said he is determined to lead Labour into the next general election, but his allies acknowledge he does not have for ever to convince his party.A source speculated the prime minister had nine months to persuade MPs that he can turn things around.Senior MPs said it was “overstated” to suggest any one faction was leading efforts to oust Starmer, with figures across the party instead engaging in a range of discussions.There are competing claims about where the push is coming from.One figure claimed allies of Andy Burnham were driving calls for a longer transition to allow him to return to parliament before any leadership contest, while others suggested MPs aligned with Wes Streeting were behind efforts to accelerate the process.
Some MPs said rival camps were trying to shape the narrative around any move, reflecting a wider disagreement over timing and strategy across the parliamentary Labour party.It is clear there is growing frustration among backbenchers that no potential successor had yet set out a clear direction, with one saying none of the names that had been touted were “actually putting a full-on manifesto forward”.One MP said there was now near-universal concern across the PLP.“We need an orderly transition,” they said, adding: “Most people think it’s over for Starmer.”A senior backbencher said morale across the party was at “rock bottom” with frustration spreading rapidly over the last week.
Starmer attempted to brush off mounting unrest inside his party and shut down questions about the future of his leadership in an interview with the Sunday Times.Asked directly if his prime ministership was over, Starmer told the newspaper: “No.”Pushed on whether he could continue, he replied: “Of course.We didn’t wait 14 years to get elected, we didn’t change the Labour party, we didn’t do all that it entailed to win the election and the mandate for change, not to deliver on it.”Asked if he would lead Labour into the next election, Starmer said: “Yes.
”A senior Labour MP said the “best chance of salvaging this” for Labour would be for Starmer to “name a timetable for departure”, with many expecting an orderly exit by conference to allow a successor to emerge.It has been a bruising time for the prime minister since the Guardian revealed that he appointed Peter Mandelson as the US ambassador despite vetting officials recommending that he be denied security clearance.His handling of the row was called into question, including his swift decision to sack the Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins.The prime minister’s allies denied claims of any wrongdoing over the appointment.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, told Sky News’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme: “No wrongdoing by the prime minister has been proven in relation to Lord Mandelson’s appointment … The whole situation is regrettable.
”Supporters of Starmer have already planned his response to what are expected to be a difficult set of Scottish, Welsh and local English election results for Labour next month, which could once again throw his leadership into peril.After the results roll in, they expect the prime minister’s initial reaction to be one of humility.“We know that voters are sending us a message: we need to acknowledge that we’ve heard it,” one source said.“Think of Obama’s ‘shellacking’ moment after the US midterms [in 2010] when the Dems took a heavy beating.Keir needs a similarly realistic and humble response.
”Downing Street also wants to “inject some hope” into the government’s narrative, one senior figure said, pointing to the king’s speech the following week as an opportunity to do so.But they added: “We know that won’t be easy.We haven’t done a good enough job telling voters about all the big things we’ve done – and we’re too good at creating our own bad headlines.It’s not just down to Keir though, we all need to do better.”Starmer hopes to bolster the political side of his No 10 operation – after the departures in recent months of his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and director of strategy Paul Ovenden – with the recruitment of a heavyweight political strategist.
An insider said: “We know that people won’t be jumping to join us this side of the May elections, but we hope that once things settle down, it might be a more attractive option,”Questions over Mandelson’s vetting will continue this week, with McSweeney due to appear before the foreign affairs select committee,
Mickey Arthur drafted into new coaches panel to mend England’s ties with county cricket
Mickey Arthur, the former South Africa and Pakistan head coach, is one of four appointments to England’s new County Insight Group as the national team seeks to repair relations with the domestic game after last winter’s Ashes defeat.Among the recommendations from the internal Ashes review that led to Rob Key and Brendon McCullum remaining as director of cricket and men’s head coach respectively was improved dialogue with the county game, not least regarding selection.The sense previously was that England were not interested in the views of those on the shop floor. Paul Farbrace, head coach at Sussex, had summed up the mood as: “There has almost been a feeling in county cricket that: ‘We’re not bothered whether England are doing well or not,’ and that saddens me.”To that end Key has appointed four county head coaches – Arthur, Richard Dawson, Alan Richardson and Anthony McGrath – to sit on a new panel that will meet the England hierarchy three or four times a season
How sport can spread the word about the climate emergency
Athletes are helping to promote a new film about the crisis, reaching people ‘in a way that scientific reports never will’It wasn’t so long ago that UK government briefings from Downing Street were essential viewing. Professors Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance were household names in Britain and there was a roaring trade in “next slide please” mugs. Four years after the final Covid lectern was put away comes an attempt to alert the public to another emergency – the climate and nature emergency. And sport could be the secret weapon in spreading the word.The National Emergency Briefing was held in London last November, in front of over 1,000 guests including MPs
NFL draft 2026 winners and losers: Eagles’ aces, Rams’ damage control and a missing coach
It can take years to properly evaluate if a prospect works out. But here are a few early takes on the ups and downs from this year’s selection processGrading a draft immediately after it happens is an interesting concept – a bit like giving out marks for a meal in a restaurant right after you order. But the NFL Draft Industrial Complex will not rest until verdicts are handed out, so here we are.So, with the standard disclaimer that we won’t know for years just how these moves turn out – who had the last pick of the 2022 draft leading his team to a Super Bowl appearance? – here’s a rundown of what caught our eye over the last few days.We are not used to praising the Browns this time of year – there are reasons that this was the franchise immortalized in the legendarily awful Draft Day movie
Ireland revenge mission falls flat amid flurry of squandered chances but England march on | Sarah Rendell
Ireland sent out mixed messages from their camp before their game with France on Saturday: was this a revenge mission for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit or not? The head coach, Scott Bemand, had denied it but the captain, Erin King, admitted the World Cup game had added some “venom” to the encounter and the full-back Stacey Flood said France should be “worried if I was them”.The Irish team may have had the image of Axelle Berthoumieu biting Aoife Wafer, an action that was not caught during the quarter-final but the France back row was given a nine-game ban afterwards, for added motivation if any was needed. There was certainly no love lost between the teams, with the fixture full of tension, squabbles and huge hits.But Ireland missed the chance to land a vengeful blow on their rivals and the opportunity slipped through their fingers with three disallowed first-half tries and a missed penalty. The visitors’ inability to put daylight between themselves and France on the scoreboard allowed the hosts to take the game away from them in the final 25 minutes
Storm success was as certain as death and taxes. So how has it all gone wrong? | Nick Tedeschi
For over two decades, Melbourne Storm have been the standard for how an elite sporting organisation operates in Australia. Led by head coach Craig Bellamy and head of football Frank Ponissi, the Storm have known nothing but success. The only time they have missed finals under Bellamy was during a ban following the 2010 salary cap scandal. In 23 years with Bellamy in charge, the Storm have won nine minor premierships, finished in the top four 18 times and played in 11 grand finals, winning five. Success has spanned players, spanned time and spanned the changing nature of the game
London Marathon hails ‘greatest day’ as Sawe breaks two hours and records tumble
The London Marathon’s organisers have hailed the “greatest day” in the event’s 45-year history after huge crowds watched Sabastian Sawe become the first man to shatter the two-hour barrier in an official race, and a world record tally of more than 60,000 runners started the event.By 6.30pm on Sunday evening, organisers were also hopeful of breaking the record number of 59,226 finishers, set by the New York Marathon last year, although they said it could go right down to the deadline of 11:59pm.Hugh Brasher, the race director, said that an estimated 800,000 supporters had watched an epic men’s race, in which Sawe and the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha had both run under two hours.Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa set a women’s-only world record, for races involving only female pace setters, although it was five minutes behind the outright women’s world record
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