Former Deputy Leader Warns Labour: Stop Plotting Against Starmer

Labour MPs have been issued a stark warning: stop plotting to oust Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This direct admonition comes from Tom Watson, who, as reported by The Guardian Politics, played a central role in the attempted coup against Tony Blair back in 2006. He says such moves go down “extremely badly with voters.”

The backdrop to this internal strife is the looming prospect of poor election results for Labour in Thursday's Scottish, Welsh, and English council elections. Senior party figures, speaking to The Guardian, admit that activists are being told the Prime Minister is the problem, not the party itself. This internal finger-pointing highlights the deep divisions plaguing Labour ahead of crucial votes.

Tom Watson, now a peer, explicitly advised current Labour MPs “not to be as reckless as we were in 2006.” He warned that a public letter calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation would create a “Westminster psychodrama” and be seized upon by opponents. Housing and Communities Secretary Steve Reed, a key Starmer loyalist, echoed this, telling Times Radio that Labour risks “annihilation” if it copies the Conservatives' habit of “doomscrolling through leaders.”

The implications for ordinary British people are clear: a party consumed by internal power struggles cannot focus on the country's real problems. Watson’s powerful observation, “Voters will see a party talking to itself while the country is shouting at it,” cuts to the heart of the matter. This infighting risks alienating the very electorate Labour needs to win over.

Despite the unrest, an immediate challenge to Starmer seems unlikely, with potential challengers like Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner locked in what one cabinet minister called a “Mexican standoff.” However, supporters of Andy Burnham are reportedly waiting for local election results in the North-West before potentially demanding Starmer set a timetable for his departure, a move that would force the Prime Minister’s hand by Friday evening.