"Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet and a junior Foreign Office minister until she was sacked in the reshuffle last year, announced yesterday afternoon that, unless a cabinet minister comes forward to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership by tomorrow morning, she will do it herself. She would need the support of 81 Labour MPs to trigger a contest; there is no evidence that she has those numbers and (for reasons that are probably a mystery to anyone under the age of 50 more on that later) she is being described as a stalking horse."
"While there may not be 81 Labour MPs who want to see West as party leader, there probably are many more than 81 who want to see Starmer replaced as leader befor the next election. Almost 40, by one count, have been going public since the elections on Thursday saying as much. But, in their comments, mostly they have been adopting the same line as St Augustine took on chastity; Lord, give me a Labour leadership contest, but not yet."
"But mostly the Labour MPs speaking out are on the soft left of the party and believe Andy Burnham would be the best replacement. They want a commitment from Starmer that he will stand down in the medium term, so that Burnham has time to get elected to parliament first so he can stand as a candidate. West is trying to speed up the process. This is seen as fatal to Burnham and potentially helpful to Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM, who would probably be the lead candidates in a contest held now."
"West has dismissed suggestion that she is acting on behalf of someone else. Yesterday she said there was plenty of talent in Labour."
Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, announced she would launch a Labour leadership challenge if no cabinet minister challenges Keir Starmer by tomorrow morning. A contest would require support from 81 Labour MPs, and there is no evidence she has that number, leading to claims she is a “stalking horse.” Many Labour MPs have called for Starmer to be replaced before the next election, but they mostly want a contest later. Soft-left MPs prefer Andy Burnham as the replacement and want Starmer to commit to standing down in the medium term so Burnham can be elected to parliament first. West’s attempt to accelerate the timeline is viewed as harmful to Burnham and potentially beneficial to Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner. West denied acting on behalf of others and said there is plenty of talent in Labour.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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