The result, one of the worst in Labour’s recent history, has turbocharged the acrimonious debate about Starmer’s perilous position and the direction he is taking his party in.
Six government ministers, MPs and officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told POLITICO they don’t expect the prime minister to be ousted in the wake of the result, which two people separately described as the “worst case scenario.” Further election hammerings expected in national and local contests in May are seen as the next flashpoint which could end his premiership less than two years after he won a landslide majority.
The Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman was blunt on Friday, saying: “He has to go for the good of Scotland, the U.K. and the party.”
Starmer and his allies insist they can turn things around — and that no massive change of strategy is needed. In a Friday interview, the prime minister gave no indication he was planning another major reset of his leadership to convince his detractors internally and externally. And in a direct emailed plea to all Labour MPs to stay the course Friday, Starmer promised to “learn lessons,” while hitting out at the “extreme” endorsements racked up by the Greens.
“I wouldn’t over-interpret the idea that we’re suddenly going to dump [what we’ve been doing] and do something totally different,” a senior government official said.
“You can have a change of emphasis. But rather than doing a massive course correction, we’re going to look at this sensibly,” the official added. “We are taking a breath and looking at the result, but I think we are very much committed to the plan we’ve got.”
