Keir Starmer¡¯s rivals in Britain¡¯s governing Labour Party have long had a motive for deposing their unpopular prime minister. The next few weeks may grant them the opportunity.
Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting, the two front-runners to replace Starmer in the event of a leadership contest, insist publicly that they remain supportive of his premiership and oppose a coup. Privately, their allies say they are poised to take over if the pressure on the prime minister gets too much.
The Labour Party has never rewarded naked ambition so readily as the Conservatives, and anyone appearing too eager to depose their boss risks scuppering their chances. So Labour members of Parliament say a series of events need to take place in quick succession to make the prime minister¡¯s position untenable: more shocking revelations about Peter Mandelson, what they termed an emotional response by Labour lawmakers to the May 7 local elections, and then a Cabinet mutiny.
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