Starmer has left the government in flux - a leadership challenge may be the only way to oust him, writes Aggie Chambre
Ministers disagree about who should take over. They disagree about when they should take over. And they disagree about how it should all be executed.
At the time of writing, Sir Keir Starmer has said he will fight on.
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He's said he'll fight any challenge and he still has the support of some of his Cabinet. He pointed out that “the Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered". Translation: Put up, or Shut Up.
After Cabinet, two influential and well known ministers resigned and called for Sir Keir to go. Neither putting, not shutting. And reports suggest more could be coming.
But still, at the time of writing, Sir Keir Starmer has said he will fight on.
Which leaves the entire party, the entire government, the entire country in a state of painful stasis.
No one I speak to thinks that this is sustainable. That it is just a matter of when, not if, the Prime Minister goes. But what the last four days have revealed in crystal clear clarity is that there may be 90+ MPs who are calling for Sir Keir to step down but that is one of the few things that the dozens agree upon.
They disagree about who should take over. They disagree about when they should take over. And they disagree about how it should all be executed.
The Prime Minister is right that the way to get rid of a Labour leader is to have a named challenger, and then 81 Labour MPs backing that challenger. So that number may be reached - but seeing as the 90+ are split on who they want - we do not have evidence of that yet.
There is another big split across the parliamentary Labour party. I reported earlier today that over 100 Labour MPs have signed a statement saying that "this is no time for a leadership contest". The rest of the 200 odd MPs are split over wanting the Prime Minister gone, wanting the Prime Minister to stay, and not knowing what they want.
All the while - we are getting a drip drip drip drip of ministerial resignations. The pressure on the Prime Minister continues and we will see what he can withstand. A challenge may be the only way the rebels can get rid of him - we will have to see if any challenger rears their head - and then if they can get the numbers.
Ministers acknowledge this is likely the end of days but even the most experienced political brains are finding it difficult to map out how exactly this ends.
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Aggie Chambre is LBC's Deputy Political Editor.
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