Keir Starmer’s No.2 begs rebels to cease ‘messy’ mutiny as ballot exhibits PM’s recognition crashing
Labour’s Lucy Powell has begged rebels to scrap a “bloody” leadership plot as a brutal new poll shows two thirds of the public now want Keir Starmer to quit No.10
Labour rebels have been urged to back Sir Keir Starmer(Image: Getty Images)
Labour’s second-in-command has issued a desperate plea to party rebels to scrap any “bloody” plans to oust Keir Starmer as his approval ratings hit rock bottom. Deputy leader Lucy Powell warned that internal warring would be a disaster as the Prime Minister battles global chaos and a revolt within his own ranks.
Her intervention comes as the party braces for a “difficult” night at the polls in next month’s local elections across Scotland, Wales, and England.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Powell didn’t hold back on the consequences of a coup attempt. She insisted that party members would “take a very dim view” of anyone trying to topple the leader while the country faces a cost-of-living crisis and conflict in Iran.
She said: “Some kind of messy, bloody internal contest is not going to help us address those issues.”
Despite the looming election dread, Powell claimed Starmer was actually winning over some Brits for his “handling of the Iran war.”
However, the data suggests a much more troubling reality for the man in No.10. A brutal new poll by JL Partners suggests that the public’s patience with Starmer has officially snapped.
The figures show 64 per cent of the general public want Starmer to quit, while just 18 per cent think he should stay in the job.
Even among 2024 Labour voters, 46 per cent want him gone now, compared to only 37 per cent who back him.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, said: “The usual loyalty we see in British politics has become unbuckled as far as Labour is concerned. And that places the Prime Minister in a very perilous position indeed.”
The mutiny talk is fuelled by rumours surrounding Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Starmer famously blocked the “King of the North” from standing in a recent by-election, a move seen by many as a way to stop Burnham from getting a seat in the Commons – a prerequisite for any leadership bid.
Powell, a long-time ally of Burnham, denied she was protecting anyone’s interests but the party’s.
She said: “I’ve got my own job and my own mandate. I’m not saying this because I want to suck up to anyone. I’m saying it because it’s the right thing for the party and country.”
In a stinging parting shot, Powell suggested the government’s current woes might be their own fault. She admitted Labour had failed to convince the public they were actually delivering, complaining that the leadership had been “too shy” about their radical agenda.
She urged the PM to “sharpen up” and “take the fight” to the opposition before the party’s foundations crumble entirely.
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