Wounded Keir Starmer will assemble his Cabinet today after they ‘looked over the precipice’ and decided against ousting him – for now.
The PM will be around the table with senior ministers who subjected him to more than 24 hours of deathly silence in the wake of his chief aide’s resignation over the Mandelson scandal.
They only finally rallied round after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar demanded he quit – with questions swirling about what concessions and deals Sir Keir might have made for his survival.
Among those at Cabinet will be Wes Streeting, who has been accused by No10 insiders of being behind the coup plot.
The Health Secretary also released a tranche of messages with Mandelson yesterday that showed he condemned his government’s ‘no growth’ strategy – but Sir Keir appears too weak to sack him.
Many in Labour still believe the PM is doomed, with the government having been forced to commit to releasing far more damaging internal messages with Mandelson.
He is facing losing his Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald in the coming days, after the departure of right-hand man Morgan McSweeney and communications chief Tim Allan.
Wounded Keir Starmer will assemble his Cabinet today after they ‘looked over the precipice’ and decided against ousting him – for now
Ministers only finally rallied round after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (pictured) demanded Sir Keir’s resignation
The party is fighting to hang on in the by-election for Gorton & Denton – a traditionally safe seat – on February 26.
And local elections in May are widely expected to be a bloodbath, with the looming catastrophe in Scotland thought to have sparked Mr Sarwar’s dramatic assassination bid.
Angela Rayner is regarded as on manoeuvres for the leadership, but backed the PM to continue yesterday. She has still not resolved issues with HMRC over the unpaid stamp duty bill that forced her resignation as Deputy PM last September.
Unlike yesterday, Downing Street managed to persuade a Cabinet minister to make the government’s case in broadcast studios this morning.
In a damning assessment of Sir Keir’s first 18 months in power, Ed Miliband said this crisis ‘has got to be a moment of change’ and the government needs a ‘much greater clarity of purpose’.
But the Net Zero Secretary urged MPs to ‘moveon.org’, telling BBC Breakfast: ‘The Labour Party as a whole looked over the precipice and thought the right thing to do is to support our leader’.
Mr Miliband told Sky News that Mr Streeting’s critique of economic policy under Rachel Reeves was wrong.
‘I think that actually Rachel has done a very good job as Chancellor,’ he said.
‘I don’t agree with – if that’s what, I haven’t seen the detail of the messages – but but I think we’ve seen the stability that is essential.
‘We’ve seen investment. I’m announcing today.
‘I know we’ve got other things to talk about, a big investment in local power so that communities can own their own clean energy. That’s only possible because of the decisions Rachel’s made.’
Mr Miliband said he was ‘not going to run’ for the Labour leadership in any potential contest.
It was put to him that his message sounded a bit like a leadership pitch, to which he replied: ‘Absolute baloney.’
Asked whether he would rule out running, the Energy Secretary told Sky News: ‘I’m not running for the leadership, no.’
Asked whether he would rule out running rather than saying he was not currently running, he said: ‘Yes, yes, I’m not going to run.’
A weary Sir Keir was seen heading back to his No10 bunker in a government car last night after the chaotic day.
Mr Sarwar, once an ally of Sir Keir, said there had been ‘too many mistakes’ in Downing Street.
‘I have to be honest about failure wherever I see it,’ he said. ‘The distraction has to end, the leadership has to change.’
Mr Sarwar told the PM of his move in advance, triggering panic in No 10 and sparking a major rescue operation.
One Labour source said ministers were told to voice their support for the PM by the end of the day or face the sack.
Sir Keir was already reeling from the departure of Mr McSweeney on Sunday, who was followed out of the door by the No10 communications director yesterday morning.
Among those at Cabinet will be Wes Streeting, who has been accused by No10 insiders of being behind the coup plot
In a damning assessment of Sir Keir’s first 18 months in power, Ed Miliband said this crisis ‘has got to be a moment of change’ and the government needs a ‘much greater clarity of purpose’
And Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris is on the brink of joining the Downing Street exodus – just a year after Sir Keir appointed him.
Private discussions were held about the possibility of replacing him with an interim leader such as Defence Secretary John Healey.
But, with leadership rivals not ready to make their move and financial markets wobbling over the prospect of a chaotic contest, they finally bowed to No 10’s demands to issue public statements of support.
In a belated flurry of posts on social media, which began as Mr Sarwar got to his feet, every member of the Cabinet gave the Prime Minister their broad support.
And in a defiant address to Labour MPs later, Sir Keir vowed to battle on, saying: ‘Every fight I’ve ever been in, I have won.’