Jeremy Quantrill

Further on Keir Starmer and departure timetable: * Team Burnham want him to wait until AFTER the by-election. They worry it would undermine their “Vote Andy to get rid of Starmer” message * Starmer remains furious at perceived cabinet betrayal. Believes Ministers who have been publicly supportive have secretly been sending their SPADs to lobby MPs to call for him to stand down * Is especially angry at Shabana Mahmood and her close friend Josh Simons

Fancy that

One of the great videos of our time. They laughed at him then. He's the sane looking one today. (Gideon's smirk is priceless)

Superb from @michaelgove. The silence in the room is telling. When eloquently delivered facts hit an audience, with many perhaps quietly grasping for the first time that the pro-EU lobby in Britain have been peddling nonsense for a decade.

💥ISC has revealed the government is withholding Peter Mandelson’s vetting file despite not having authority to do so. In extraordinary intervention, the powerful committee has criticised government over its handling of release of papers - effectively accusing ministers of failing to comply with parliament’s will. theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

*NEW: Bloomberg Saturday read* 💥 MPs loyal to Keir Starmer say Ed Miliband and Wes Streeting both plotted against him throughout the last year, destabilising then destroying the government and plunging Britain into chaos. 💥 Miliband orchestrated Andy Burnham’s plot to become PM from within cabinet. MPs loyal to Starmer accuse Miliband of betrayal. It is being compared to when he stood against his brother for the leadership in 2010. 💥 They say it is immensely frustrating that, rather than focus on their very important jobs and rally together behind the PM at a time of global crisis, Miliband, Burnham and Streeting instead acted for personal gain to advance their own careers. 💥 Allies of Miliband, Burnham and Streeting each argue they were motivated by saving Labour from Starmer’s disastrous leadership and stopping Britain falling to Farage. They say he had become the most unpopular PM in history and there is no way he could have led Labour into the next election. 💥 But some people loyal to Starmer wish he had sacked Streeting and Miliband for their disloyalty when he learned of it last year. Some wanted him to do so at the time. Starmer didn’t, fearing instability. 💥 One senior figure expresses their complete disbelief that Labour is behaving as badly as the Tories after only a fraction of the time, descending into factionalism, regicide and collapse. They say they never thought it was possible. 💥 The left of the party is scathing about Starmer’s legacy. A senior person on the left says that from day one Rachel Reeves was out of her depth as chancellor. They say when the history books are written about the Starmer government it is Reeves who will come off worst. 💥 A source close to Starmer blames Trump as the person singularly responsible for the failure of his premiership. They say from the moment Trump was elected the global crises that followed meant Starmer was never able to focus enough on the domestic priorities of voters. They argue no PM in decades has had to deal with a threat to Britain’s interests like that posed by Trump. They wish Labour had pulled together. 💥 They say if the Democrats had won the election things would have been completely different. Starmer wouldn’t have made what he considers to be his worst ever mistake, appointing Mandelson. It was a Bloomberg News investigation that brought down Mandelson, precipitating a period of crisis for Starmer from which he never recovered. 💥 Some on the Labour right consider Starmer’s capitulation on the welfare vote to be the beginning of the end because it emboldened the soft-left to expand their plots against him and ultimately try to take him out. One says Labour has “100 Liz Trusses” on its backbenches. Investors warn a more left-wing PM will be at the mercy of bond vigilantes. Gilts and the pound slumped on Friday as Burnham’s route to power became clear. 💥 Burnham’s supporters say he will be PM by Labour conference in September. A source of widespread amusement across Labour is that Streeting didn’t have the numbers and blew it, handing the leadership to Burnham and Miliband. Those two want what they call an “orderly transition.” Recent experience of British politics suggests the chances of that are slim. How Keir Starmer Imploded and Plunged Britain Into More Chaos >>> bloomberg.com/news/features/…

Starmer weighs up his future amid fury at 'betrayal' by his Cabinet - The Times's weekend read: * Starmer is spending weekend at Chequers. Friends say that for all the rhetoric about not walking away and public displays of defiance he is seriously considering setting out a timeline for his departure * He feels betrayed by senior figures in the Cabinet who owe their jobs to his landslide majority and his decision to appoint them to high office in the first place * The Times's disclosure that ministers had called for him to set out a timeline for his departure is a particular source of fury. 'It was unforgiveable,' one ally said * The Cabinet consensus is that Starmer has to go - it's just a question of when and how. 'The local election results show that he has lost the country and his speech proved he didn’t have the ability to turn it around,' one Cabinet minister said. 'We’re in a world where it’s either Andy or Wes now.” * Some members of the Cabinet say it will be a coronation for Burnham if he defeats Reform in Makerfield. “If Andy wins Makerfield he will be carried aloft into the Westminster tearooms on the shoulders of Labour MPs. There is simply not a world in which he doesn’t win the leadership so it must be a coronation — because the last thing we need is a damaging leadership battle.” * The briefings against Starmer are increasingly vicious. One senior Labour MP compared him to Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, and accused him of 'squatting' in Number 10. 'It's over, he's in denial' * Some think Starmer has a duty to play caretaker and unifier. “If Burnham wins he needs to preside over a unifying moment for the party and bring the two sides together. It is a lot to ask of him, but it is an essential role. He cannot leave us in such a chaotic state. If he vacates the pitch and lets them fight among themselves it will be a disaster. Someone has to act as a unifier.” * Streeting has not given up on the leadership and will join any contest * For Starmer, the next month threatens to be humiliating. Most of the Cabinet are likely to go out and campaign for Burnham, the man expected to replace him if he wins. All of which could leave him out of power after less than two years in No 10 thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

Further on Starmer decision to set out a timetable for his departure: * He has said he wishes to be seen to be doing it on his own terms * The timetable is not yet set. Morgan McSweeney is reported to have urged him to wait till the first polling and canvass data is obtained from Makerfield * However Starmer is believed to have decided it must be before polling day on 18 June, to ensure he is not perceived to have been forced out by Andy Burnham

@AlistairCarns @cleowatson88 @helen_macnamara is this a reference to the breaking news tonight?

Have a great evening everyone!

Kier Starmer has told friends he intends to resign as Prime Minster and will set out a timetable to do so-Daily Mail

Source is Dan Hodges who was told late yesterday by a cabinet member Starmer wants to leave but in a dignified, apparently he sees the current chaos as unsustainable.

He is a joke

@helen_macnamara @AlistairCarns @cleowatson88 I looked at the photo and saw cloudy/turbulent outlook on the left, too 'blue' on the right but in the centre a perfect mix that appeals to the most.....

@Quant48 @AlistairCarns @cleowatson88 1. Ready to be parachuted in at a moment’s notice 2. Man of the people + Friday night pint 3. Repeat to also highlight reassuring gilet for bond market Winning all round!

Have a great evening everyone!

If Belarus attacks, "so much will fly there that it's no joke" and could seriously shake them, Kuleba adds.

Personal update: I was planning on taking a couple of days off over the next month. Given the news, I will instead be dedicating myself to helping the Reform candidate for Makerfield end Andy Burnham’s career and accelerate an early general election. Will be fun!

Makerfield By-Election Forecast: With Burnham: LAB: 45% RFM: 42% Without Burnham: RFM: 53% LAB: 27% Via @Survation. Methodology Below.

Exclusive with @larisamlbrown Sir Keir Starmer is expected to approve an £18 billion increase in defence spending as he faces a battle for political survival Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser, has written to Starmer in recent weeks warning him that Britain would struggle to maintain its position on the world stage without a significant increase in spending, The Times understands He warned that the armed forces could not afford the jets, munitions and advanced technology that Britain needs to fight a future war without a significant increase to the budget Dame Antonia Romeo, the cabinet secretary, is also understood to have pushed for a big increase in spending The prime minister is expected to approve the spending boost as soon as next week, bringing an end to months of delays and internal rows, amid concerns in the Treasury that it would be unaffordable It is unclear how the increase in spending will be funded, although a Whitehall source insisted it would be “fully affordable” thetimes.com/article/b5c26a…

@policylaila wow..is that the best AI can be?....eyes and neck are atrocious.

This is a deep fake of me posted on Tik Tok, redirecting people to a fake account.

Exclusive from @oliver_wright Cabinet ministers are calling for Andy Burnham to be given a “coronation” as Labour’s next leader if he can return to Westminster by beating Reform UK in the Makerfield by-election Senior figures in the party have warned that Labour would descend into “months of factional warfare” if Wes Streeting challenged Burnham for the leadership, calling for the two men to strike a deal to prevent a contest Sir Keir Starmer is also under pressure from allies in the cabinet not to stand in Burnham’s way and to announce his resignation either before or immediately after the by-election result The prime minister was said to be considering his position this weekend and had privately acknowledged that he would not be able to see off a challenge from Burnham if the mayor of Greater Manchester won in Makerfield One cabinet minister said Streeting would also be under huge pressure to stand aside for Burnham, saying there was “no way” he would be able to win a leadership battle in the wake of a victory in Makerfield “If Andy wins Makerfield, he will be carried aloft into the Westminster tea rooms on the shoulders of Labour MPs,” they said. “Wes needs to realise that he will lose to Andy and back down gracefully in a way that allows the party to move forward. “The alternative is months of factional warfare which will create a schism in the parliamentary party that cannot be repaired.” thetimes.com/article/d794b0…

British politics will reach a new reductio ad absurdum in the Makerfield by election: Vote Labour to destroy the sitting Labour Prime Minister. Support Labour PM Starmer but NOT voting Labour. We are having a by-election not because there’s any demand or need in the national interest but entirely to suit the convenience of the byzantine politics of the ruling party and the political pygmies in whose interest it is run. We are no longer a serious nation. No wonder the bond markets are squiffy.