Free thinking. Straight talking. Explore more opinion from the nation’s leading comment writers. |  | Ben Riley-Smith Political Editor | Is it enough to save Sir Keir Starmer? That is the question being asked in Westminster this morning after Morgan McSweeney resigned as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff.
The move, taken because McSweeney recommended Lord Mandelson for the post of US ambassador, has bought Starmer time – but can it save his skin?
No, according to a string of Labour MPs who went public yesterday calling for the Prime Minister to join McSweeney on the way out of Downing Street.
Graham Stringer, the MP for Blackley and Middleton South, said: “Keir has played his last card and supped his last drink in the last chance saloon. He should spend the next 10 weeks getting the party into shape to choose the right successor.”
Kim Johnson, the MP for Liverpool Riverside, said “the buck stops” with Starmer, adding that McSweeney’s resignation “will not protect the PM – his position is untenable”.
Ian Byrne, the MP for Liverpool West, said: “The PM must now reflect honestly on his own position and ask whether, for the good of the country and the Labour Party, he should follow McSweeney’s lead.”
Brian Leishman, the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said: “There must be a change in political direction and that comes from the very top, so the Prime Minister must look at his own position.”
These are only some Labour MPs. There are 404 in total and the accurate mood of the entire Parliamentary Labour Party remains to be seen. However, within some ranks, there is fear about the party’s polling and certainly loathing over how the vast House of Commons majority is being handled.
Starmer now has to find a new chief of staff, but one former aide said of the idea of a return: “I’d rather saw my own legs off.”
For now, Starmer remains in office and, just about, in power, but he has lost a human shield.
If Labour MPs come again after the Gorton and Denton by-election later this month, or following the drubbing widely expected in the May local elections, who goes next?
The Prime Minister is running short of scapegoats.
Read the full story here ➤
McSweeney allies point finger at Powell ➤
McSweeney’s resignation statement – what he said and what he meant ➤ | | Tim Stanley Prime ministers with historic majorities don’t leave after eighteen months Continue reading ➤ William Sitwell As a critic, I was savage. Now I’m getting a taste of my own medicine Continue reading ➤ Matthew Lynn The student loans system is out of control. Britain cannot afford it any longer Continue reading ➤ | | By the way, Google has introduced a new feature called “preferred sources”, so you can see more journalism that you know and trust in your search results. Add The Telegraph today and ensure you never miss the stories that matter. | | Giorgia Meloni projects strength on defence, but Italy’s armed forces tell a more complicated story. This second instalment in our series on the Italian prime minister’s influence at home and abroad explores ageing military kit, tight budgets and public unease, and asks whether Rome’s tough talk can survive Nato pressure. Continue reading ➤ | | | Whenever the Winter Olympics is on, the mind cannot help but rewind to the greatest lovable trier of all, Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards. While more ostrich than eagle in those unforgettable ski jumps in Calgary in 1988, this occasional plasterer and pantomime actor is still, at 62, one of life’s perpetual dreamers. To spend an hour interviewing him is to be cured of cynicism, and to realise how, by reaching the most frightening start line purely through his own sacrifice and determination, he exemplifies everything the Olympics is supposed to be. Continue reading ➤ | |  | | The Tepper brothers – (L-R) Timothy, Peter, Jonathan and David | | If anyone asks how many brothers Jonathan Tepper has, the answer is always three. “David, Peter, Timothy and me,” he says. “Timothy was gone, but we’d always be a band of four brothers.” When Jonathan was 14 years old, his youngest sibling, Timothy, died in a car accident five days before his 10th birthday. The four brothers and their father had all been in the car, with David, the eldest at 16, driving. Twenty-five years on, Jonathan writes that the profound loss changed the course of the brothers’ lives. Continue reading ➤ | | | | | Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, won a landslide victory in yesterday’s election, taking more than two-thirds of the seats in the lower house to secure an “absolute majority”. The Telegraph visited Nara, Ms Takaichi’s hometown, to chart her remarkable rise from a teenage motorbike-riding rebel to a world leader who often survives on three hours of sleep a night and one meal a day. Continue reading ➤ | | | Belle Burden – granddaughter of Babe Paley, the socialite and style icon – thought she’d avoided the family curse of marrying unfaithful men. “I felt that I was picking somebody who would be the last person to do this,” she says of her ex-husband, Henry. Then, one day, a man called to tell her Henry was sleeping with his wife. Her world fell apart and, as she tells The Telegraph, to this day she doesn’t know why he cheated and then left. Continue reading ➤ | | | Statins are taken by seven to eight million adults in Britain and are routinely prescribed by cardiologists to lower a patient’s cholesterol. However, rumours that they may be harmful have been circulating for years, including the claim that the drugs can cause cognitive issues. After a new study has thrown these fears into doubt, David Cox speaks to experts and takes a closer look at the concerns surrounding statins. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles that I hope will improve your day: | Caption competition with... |  | Matt Pritchett Cartoonist | Hello,
For today’s caption contest, we have a contestant on Mastermind. I will accept both questions and answers as captions.
It was a tight competition this week and an honourable mention to Humbert Lerone with his submission: “Starmer’s last line of defence against the Rayn(er),” but in the end Henry Smith won out. P.S. For an inside look at what inspires my weekly cartoons, you can sign up for my personal subscriber-exclusive newsletter here. | What will we do with a drunken sailor? Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
The Royal Navy, as The Telegraph’s Lewis Page recently explained, is sobering up. From now on, its ratings and officers will be expected to abstain from alcohol for two days each week, and stay within the government-approved limit of 14 units. A sad development, I’m sure you’ll agree. After all, if not even our sailors are allowed to be drunk anymore, what hope is there for the rest of us?
I’ve been enjoying our readers’ responses. Lynette Chandler pointed out that the latest news was part of a longer-term trend: “Lewis Page’s interesting article brought to mind a Royal Naval Association ‘End of Tot’ dinner I attended in 1970. The invitations were black-bordered and some of the guests wore black armbands to mourn the end of the daily rum ration.”
Jenny Jones, however, recalled an age of largesse: “Many years ago in Malta, my husband and I were invited on board a Royal Navy ship that was giving a party. The atmosphere was convivial and, thanks to attentive stewards, I was able to enjoy several gin and tonics before dinner.
“On departing, it seemed to me that the gangway had become a lot steeper. Back on dry land, our host asked how many drinks I’d had. When I said three, he told me that in fact I’d had nine, as naval tots are about triple the size of what one would get in a pub.”
Other forces had a healthy respect for booze too, of course. I was amused by John W Smith’s story: “My father was in the Royal Army Service Corps and served on a fire boat in the Icelandic region. Being teetotal, he would give his rum ration to his mates in exchange for cigarettes. His sergeant took a dim view of this arrangement, and on one occasion my father was ordered to drink his rum ration. Subsequently he was disciplined for being drunk on duty.”
Finally, a very pertinent question from Alf Crossman: “The Royal Navy’s new rules fall in line with national health guidelines. Can we assume the same initiative will be applied to MPs and the bars of the Palace of Westminster?” I’d like to hear more of your stories. Send them here and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, to which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was ENUMERATE. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Please let me know what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here.
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor | |
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