Starmer had just 45 minutes’ warning before the bombshell dropped

Sir Keir Starmer was working in Downing Street on his plan for a government reset shortly after 4pm on Saturday when he heard the news that could upend it entirely.

A member of his team had received a call from Nick Thomas-Symonds, a senior government minister, who had just finished a pre-recorded interview with the BBC from his South Wales constituency.

During the interview, the presenter asked him about comments from the previous interviewee, Catherine West, a Labour MP who had sensationally threatened to launch a leadership bid if the Cabinet did not move to oust the Prime Minister by Monday.

Sir Keir therefore had a 45-minute warning that his premiership was being formally challenged – by an MP almost no one outside Westminster or her north London constituency has ever heard of.

Ms West told the BBC that she already had 10 backers for her “stalking horse” bid, which is designed to trigger a leadership election that another contender would win.

“I don’t have a candidate,” she said. “But I think there are several people who would like to do it, who have been planning for months, but I’m very surprised that none of them has popped up today to say ‘I will do it’.”

The bizarre development, from an MP described by one No 10 source as a “lone wolf”, will now dominate the news agenda ahead of the Prime Minister’s “reset” speech on Monday.

That speech, which The Telegraph understands will be held somewhere outside London, was designed to win back support for Sir Keir among Labour MPs, who are furious about their party’s poor performance in the local elections.

Sir Keir is expected to offer a plan to “rebuild trust” and “set out more clearly” how Labour is planning to change lives. Themes will include opportunity for young people, Britain’s relationship with the EU, and the parlous state of high streets and local communities.

The political context could not be more difficult. Sir Keir is facing calls to resign from more than three dozen MPs, although the rebels are divided between supporters of Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting, who think he should stand down immediately, and backers of Andy Burnham, who want a timetable for an “orderly transition” that will give their man time to win the seat in Parliament that he requires to challenge for the leadership.

The MPs argue that Labour must have time to change leader and regain popularity before the next general election, after failing to stop the rise of both Reform UK and the Green Party.

Thursday’s results brought the party a vote share of just 15 per cent – the lowest ever at a local election – and ejected it from power in the Welsh Senedd.

There is some debate among MPs about whether Ms West has a realistic chance of convincing 20 per cent of MPs to back her phony challenge, which is required to force a contest under Labour’s rulebook.

To get to the threshold of 81 signatures, she would need the backing of every single MP who has already called for Sir Keir to resign, plus another 42 who have so far remained loyal.

However, many of the rebels are supporters of Mr Burnham, who would not be eligible to run in the leadership race if it was triggered now because he is not an MP. They would be unlikely to support Ms West.

Louise Haigh, a former Cabinet minister and Burnham ally, has gone “absolutely nuts” and told friends she is trying to “talk her down” from running because it could ruin the Manchester Mayor’s chances.

Another route to 81 signatures would be to target the most Left-wing MPs, in Labour’s Socialist Campaign Group, who are mostly supporters of Ms Rayner.

One MP in that group told The Telegraph they thought Ms West’s bid could “catch fire” and succeed in ousting Sir Keir, but only if she can win a “credible number” of MPs in the next few days.

There could also be mileage in targeting Streeting supporters. A third MP – who has not yet decided who to back – said they thought Ms West’s decision would mostly help the Health Secretary, who is thought to have the most advanced campaign apparatus and a “plan for government”.

“This only benefits Wes,” they said. “He’s the most ready, and if he goes now, it could be a coronation.”

Loyalist MPs have jokingly started a “#GoWestForWes” campaign, mocking the Corbynista MP for accidentally becoming a stalking horse for the most Right-wing contender in the race.

Over in Downing Street, staff spent Saturday evening trying to establish how much Ms West really threatens Sir Keir, and the mood is cautiously optimistic.

“She’s not a popular person in the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] and she’s a total lone wolf,” said one source. “Her backers would have to be 81 people who are happy with Andy being shut out, and she just doesn’t have those numbers.”

The bigger concern, perhaps, is that ministers answer Ms West’s demand and move against Sir Keir themselves in the next 48 hours.

The Cabinet has not so far joined the post-election mutiny, although there was already speculation that they could launch a coup next week if Monday’s speech is not impressive enough.

On Saturday Sir Keir’s first “reset” move – to hand unpaid advisory jobs to Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman – did not go down well.

“People in the country and party are angry, and all this proves is that they’re not being listened to,” said one minister. “If the answer is returning to 2006 then they’ve got the wrong question.”

A Cabinet minister said there was “sadness” among their colleagues over the results because they all know councillors who lost their seats on Thursday, adding that ministers expected “noticeable change” from Sir Keir next week.

Cabinet ministers agree that the situation is dire, but mostly believe a coup is unlikely because they cannot agree on a successor.

“No one can unite around any alternative, everyone is very vocal about being anti-someone but not pro-anyone,” said one source.

“We are getting to the point where people need to put up or shut up, frankly,” said a second source. “You either run, or you shut the f--- up.”

Ministers faced an interesting test of loyalty on Friday afternoon, when staff in No 10 and the Chief Whip’s office messaged ministers and their teams with a request to say something supportive about Sir Keir online.

Amy Richards, the No10 political director, and Harvey Redgrave, the head of briefing, had written a script that suggested “lines to take”, including that a leadership election would create chaos in the party and paralyse the Government.

The call was answered immediately by Steve Reed, the ultra-loyal Communities Secretary, who warned against talk of “timelines, backroom deals and navel-gazing” and Peter Kyle, the Business Secretary, who complained about MPs “blaming the boss”.

Darren Jones, John Healey, Heidi Alexander, James Murray and Rachel Reeves followed soon after.

‘Cabinet coming to end of its tether’

But there was less support from some other ministers. Ed Miliband, who recently told Sir Keir privately that he should set out a timetable to leave office, waited a further four hours to post a statement, and did not warn against a leadership election.

Lisa Nandy, a leading figure on the soft-Left, said much the same, while Shabana Mahmood waited until 11.15pm – almost six hours after the request from No 10.

“You can sense the Cabinet is coming to the end of its tether,” said one government source.

That may be true. But with Mr Streeting and Ms Rayner keeping their heads down, Mr Burnham stuck in Manchester and Ms West forcing a contest that few MPs want, Westminster is asking one question. What on earth can they do about it?

[Source: Daily Telegraph]