Let's not deny the good work Labour has done. But Starmer is too timid for the radical remedies needed now | Polly Toynbee

"Labour is in the deepest trouble. A juicy leadership drama ignites all Westminster-watchers, another spellbinding live-action theatre of rising and falling stars, duels, betrayals of trust, new alliances and old ones broken. Some would pull back from this vortex. Is regicide absolutely necessary when stability is what people and markets say they want and vox pops groan, Not another one! After less than two years, with worse turmoil ahead from the Trump war, now, really? Whatever comes of Wes Streeting's attempt to trigger a contest, this sixth game of thrones for No 10 in a decade is inevitable and unavoidable."

"Labour has to confront what voters said deafeningly in the local elections: not Labour and, crushingly, not Keir Starmer. He is in that bourn from which no traveller returns: political death. No one ever came back from such public rejection. Ignoring it is not an option, just wishful thinking. As Mark Carney famously warned, Hope is not a plan, nostalgia is not a strategy. Labour needs a plan and a strategy, a chance to start again with candidates laying out their maps and their melodies."

"Politics is a miserable business much of the time. Starmer doesn't deserve this, but with a dignified timetable he must be gone by autumn. The threatening spectre of Nigel Farage means there is no room for sympathy, nor time to wait for change either in Starmer or in public opinion of him: it will never come. Though he has been an unsuccessful and unlucky leader, I like and respect the man, but the public doesn't. Better by far if he doesn't fight a contest, but when the time comes moves to the Foreign Office, where he's best suited a uniting gesture just as when Ed Miliband was invited back to the frontbench."

"No rule says Labour will bounce back under a new leader, even though Andy Burnham (alone) has a net positive rating for popularity, and now, courtesy of Makerfield MP Josh Simons, a possible route back to parliament. Like Starmer, no contender beats Farage as best p"

Labour faces severe political trouble marked by leadership conflict and shifting alliances. A leadership contest may be triggered, but a change at No 10 is treated as unavoidable after repeated turmoil. Voters have rejected Labour and Keir Starmer in local elections, and ignoring that rejection is described as wishful thinking. Hope and nostalgia are rejected as substitutes for a concrete plan and strategy. Starmer is portrayed as politically doomed, with a dignified timetable requiring him to leave by autumn. Nigel Farage is presented as a looming threat that removes room for sympathy or delay. A move to the Foreign Office is suggested as a better fit, while other figures may offer limited paths back to parliament.

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