Labour Meltdown as Plotters Warn Starmer Will Be Ousted and Reeves Gone by Christmas

Anyone who hoped the summer lull might calm things down will have been disappointed. Instead, the drama has carried on, with rows over Angela Rayner’s property purchase, anger at Rachel Reeves’ handling of the economy, and a reshuffle that feels more like a desperate attempt to steady the ship.

At the heart of it all is Starmer’s own future as leader and prime minister. Some in the party are openly plotting against him, while others are quietly maneuvering to weaken his biggest rival, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner. The reshuffle, far from a show of confidence, looked more like an admission that Starmer needs to claw back control, reported the Independent.

His authority has been badly shaken, particularly after the rebellion over welfare cuts. Many MPs are also looking nervously at the polls, with Reform UK now boasting an eight-point lead. Critics say Starmer has been too focussed on foreign policy, leaving Reeves and the Treasury to dominate the domestic agenda. The Treasury’s decisions to scrap winter fuel payments for pensioners and cut £5bn from disability benefits have only deepened discontent.

One MP summed it up bluntly: “All the problems are coming from the Treasury. He needs to get a grip on it.”

So, in comes a new chief economist to set policy from Downing Street, Baroness Minouche Shafik, who is known to favour income tax rises. Reeves’ former deputy, Darren Jones, has also been moved across to bolster Starmer’s team inside No 10. Both appointments signal a clear attempt by Starmer to shift economic control back under his direct watch.

Rayner, meanwhile, has had her own troubles. Pictures of her vaping on an inflatable during the summer break drew headlines, as did questions about her flat purchase in Brighton. A court ruling stopping her from disclosing her tax arrangements has only stoked further speculation about how the property was funded.

Her allies, though, believe she is being targeted from within. One supporter suggested to The Independent that Starmer’s close allies, Morgan McSweeney and Pat McFadden, may have been behind a string of damaging briefings aimed at undermining her. “They want to see her taken out,” the supporter claimed.

The reason is obvious enough. Rayner is the clear favourite to succeed Starmer if he falls. With the party grassroots leaning left and backbench fury over welfare cuts, figures like Wes Streeting would likely struggle to beat her. A Rayner victory would undo years of work to drag Labour to the right and mark a shift back towards a more openly socialist project.

One senior plotter was frank about where things stand after the reshuffle: “This is a roll of the dice to save Starmer. It means that Reeves is a dead woman walking. She will be gone by Christmas and if things do not improve we will remove him. It may need to be the men in grey coats or a special conference but he will be out.”