How quickly could Starmer be deposed?
6/17/202617 min
Voters head to the polls tomorrow in Makerfield for what could be the most consequential by-election in modern British history. If Andy Burnham wins by a significant margin, he will be heralded as the man Labour need to beat Reform nationally – and Starmer could be forced out within days.
Yet the Prime Minister has come out fighting, warning Burnham that now is not the time for a challenge. What should we expect from what promises to be a febrile 72 hours in British politics? Will Starmer’s deposition be conducted with decorum, or will it descend into a bloodbath?
Plus: with Keir Starmer travelling back from the G7 today, parliament saw Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions. Amid Labour’s leadership turmoil, David Lammy went head to head with the shadow energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, herself tipped to be a future Tory chancellor. How did they both fare?
Isabel Hardman speaks to Tim Shipman and pollster Scarlett Maguire
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsTim Shipman· Guest0:00
Given the state of the world today, it's unsurprising that the specter of inflation is never very far away. But if you have savings in cash, it's an ever-present threat. Alliance Whitman, however, aims to give you returns that beat inflation. Dating back to 1888, the trust now manages around £5 billion in assets, and amazingly, has paid an increased dividend every single year for the last 59 years. So if you're looking to move beyond cash and into investing in stocks and shares, it's an ideal way to do so without leaving your comfort zone. Investment value may rise or fall. Dividend increases not guaranteed.
Isabel Hardman· Host0:34
[upbeat music] Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, the Spectator's daily politics podcast. I'm Isabel Hardman, and I'm joined by Tim Shipman and Scarlett Maguire. Now, we've had today deputy prime minister's questions with Da- It was a big one. It was a big one. Everyone's excited. It was David Lammy and Claire Coutinho. Tim, was it so good that you're gonna miss Keir Starmer even more?
Tim Shipman· Guest1:00
I mean, no, but actually it was quite interesting. They both did... So, uh, Lammy didn't know who he was gonna be up against, and actually sort of did reasonably well. Claire Coutinho is seen as one of the sort of rising stars of the Tory benches. There's been a bit of scuttlebutt about maybe her becoming shadow chancellor. She's obviously shadow energy at the moment. And the Tories were quite clever. They basically used it as an opportunity to try and get some headlines for the Aberdeen South by-election. So Coutinho, who is obviously keen on energy, went on Ed Miliband's