All posts tagged: loselose

Labour MPs face a ‘lose-lose’ vote on Starmer sleaze inquiry

Labour MPs face a ‘lose-lose’ vote on Starmer sleaze inquiry

Published by Sam Flores

Pity the poor Labour MPs who will be expected to walk through the lobbies on Tuesday to decide whether Sir Keir Starmer should be investigated for contempt of the House. Privately, a number of them are already complaining about being in a “lose-lose situation” with Sir Keir expected to ignore the precedent set by Boris Johnson in April 2022 and whip his MPs to vote against the move. As one Labour MP put it, if they vote to support a Privileges Committee inquiry into whether the prime minister misled parliament, they will be “inviting months of chaos and speculation” while needlessly handing the Conservatives a win. But many are reluctant to back a seriously wounded prime minister who is expected to face a serious challenge to his leadership within weeks despite him making a personal appeal to them at a Monday evening showdown with the parliamentary party. His appeal to them to “look at the big picture” did not have the impact he hoped for with one MP noting that “the big picture is how …

Keir Starmer’s lose-lose scenario as Labour tears itself apart over Burnham blocking | Politics | News

Keir Starmer’s lose-lose scenario as Labour tears itself apart over Burnham blocking | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

Sir Keir Starmer faced a lose-lose over Andy Burnham. Let the Mayor of Manchester run in the Gorton and Denton by-election, and the PM could have faced an immediate leadership threat from the ‘King of the North’. But block Burnham via Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) – which is exactly what happened – and the PM faces the ire of already febrile Labour backbenchers, many now baying for Sir Keir’s blood. The by-election was already wide open but perhaps even more so since Burnham is now banned from standing. Then with Green Party leader Zack Polanski also ruling himself out this ups the chances for Reform. While the NEC talks about the costs of a new mayoral vote in Manchester should Burnham be the Labour candidate, the PM’s enemies smell a rat. Many talk of open revolt. No doubt this strengthens the hand of Health Secretary Wes Streeting as well, a much-hyped would-be challenger to Sir Keir. While no darling of the Labour Left, Streeting remains the obvious successor in Parliament. This comes as January’s …