Floundering Keir Starmer read the riot act to Cabinet today after a disastrous bout of infighting and Budget leaks.
The PM told his senior team that there must be no more ‘distractions’ – even though it was his allies who appeared to be briefing against ministers.
At the weekly meeting, Sir Keir warned that the public were ‘rightly impatient’ with the government ‘talking about ourselves’ rather than working together.
The intervention came after he was forced to insist he would lead Labour into the next election.
The sense of turmoil at the heart of government has been growing after an extraordinary pre-emptive strike against Sir Keir’s Cabinet rivals backfired.
The premier was left defending his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney when Health Secretary Wes Streeting publicly attacked No10’s ‘toxic culture’ and ‘self-destruction’.
It then emerged that Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves had performed a shambolic U-turn on plans to increase income tax at the Budget, despite weeks of blatant hints.
Keir Starmer told Cabinet that there must be no more ‘distractions’ – even though it was his allies who appeared to be briefing against ministers
The premier was forced to defend his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney when Health Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured today) publicly attacked No10’s ‘toxic culture’ and ‘self-destruction’
Sir Keir said he had been assured that neither Mr McSweeney nor anyone else in No10 briefed against Mr Streeting
A YouGov poll has found 23 per cent of Labour supporters think the party leader should quit now and elect someone else.
A further 22 per cent believe he should give up his role at some point before the next election.
Only a third, 34 per cent, said he should continue to lead the Labour Party into the contest.
The PM’s official spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by setting out the importance of the Government’s mandate to renew the country.
‘He said distractions meant our focus shifted from where it mattered most, working every day in service of the British people.’
Sir Keir also said ‘people were rightly impatient for change and we had to deliver that rather than talk about ourselves’, and ‘that meant working as one team’, his spokesman added.
It is understood the ‘distractions’ were the briefings about a leadership challenge and leaks to the press about Budget plans.
Sir Keir made another attempt to shore up his position in an interview with The Mirror today.
Asked whether he would lead Labour into the next election, he said: ‘Yes, I will. Let me be really clear – every minute that’s not spent talking about and dealing with the cost of living is a minute wasted of the political work of this Government.
‘That’s my response to last week. I remain utterly focused on what matters to me most, which is bearing down on the cost of living and making people feel better off.
‘I’m very conscious of the fact that people want to get on in life, they want to progress, they want more money in their pocket to do the things that matter to them.’
Sir Keir has been interviewed by reality TV star Pete Wicks as he desperately hunts for ways to revive his political fortunes.
The PM is making what has been billed as a highly personal appearance on The Only Way is Essex alumnus’s podcast Man Made.
Downing Street has been scrabbling for ways of getting back on track after a dire first 16 months in power – and with speculation mounting about Sir Keir’s position.
Labour has been targeting influencers and podcasters in an effort to get more positive messages to the public. Prime front-row spots were reserved for ‘content creators’ at a recent Rachel Reeves speech.
The strategy has echoes of Ed Miliband’s approach during the disastrous 2015 election campaign, when he appeared on comedian Russell Brand‘s YouTube show to urge people to vote.