#keir-starmer

#keir-starmer

"Russia has shown its appetite for aggression. Its threats extend across Europe - tearing at our security and social order," Starmer said. "Disinformation, sabotage, cyber-attacks - they are undermining our way of life. We must be ready to fight if needed."

It was a dark week for the prime minister, with the departure of his longtime chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who had become a deeply divisive figure and who took the hit for the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, despite his links to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But last Thursday morning had for a change been dominated by a different story.

Keir Starmer arrived at Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions with his claws sharpened. He reminded the Conservatives of Boris Johnson's misdeeds; the Liberal Democrats of their complicity in the austerity imposed by David Cameron's government; and Scottish National Party (SNP) of the corruption cases involving its previous leadership. Welldrilled Labour MPs cheered and applauded their leader. The immediate goal was to contain the fallout from the MandelsonEpstein scandal, which had come close to ending the British prime minister's brief tenure.

Good things may come to those who wait, but when it comes to repairing the Brexit settlement Britain was left with by Boris Johnson, the waiting has come at a heavy cost. Prices are higher, trade is weaker and our influence diminished. That is why Keir Starmer's promise to bring forward legislation this year to improve the UK's deal with the EU is the clearest signal yet that the era of warm words without delivery may finally be coming to an end.

When he does go, what will the political death certificate give as the true cause of Keir Starmer's demise? It won't be the Peter Mandelson scandal, the policy U-turns or the bleak nights at provincial counting centres. All these are symptoms, not the disease. No, what is turning the guy elected just 19 months ago into an ex-prime minister is the slow realisation among ministers, colleagues and voters of one essential truth about the man: there is less to him than meets the eye.

Westminster has seen plenty of leadership crises over the past decade. Sir Keir has faced questions over his leadership for months. But when a leader is under pressure, there are key questions worth asking: Is there a moment that will tip things over the edge - from crisis to the fall of a prime minister? How does it happen? Is there an obvious successor? Here are three moments that could prove dangerous for the prime minister.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.