Removing Starmer solves the problem of an unpopular leader, but without a coherent alternative agenda his successor won’t fare much better
Labour has spent much of the past year paralysed by competing fears. MPs’ dread of facing voters with Keir Starmer as prime minister has been kept in check by their recoil from the process of replacing him. They know the prime minister is an electoral liability; they know that the electorate takes a dim view of chaotic, regicidal parties that showcase disunity and factional rancour when they are supposed to be running the country.
Impatience with Starmer’s leadership has, until now, been neutralised by reluctance to gamble on a contest that might replace him with someone worse. Last week’s local and devolved ballots changed the calculus. Labour MPs now have indisputable evidence that they are cruising towards nationwide electoral oblivion. A growing number think the trajectory will not change if the leader stays the same.
The future starts with us: Gordon Brown in conversation.
On Thursday 10 September, join Hugh Muir and Gordon Brown to discuss the intricate connections between global instability and civic decline, as explored in Brown’s new book, The Future Starts With Us. Book tickets here or at guardian.live
Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...Exclusive: Leaked draft statement says party ‘cannot continue on its current path’ under PM
Keir Starmer will not lead his party into the next general election, Labour-supporting unions have predicted, in an intervention that threatens to further destabilise the prime minister after a damaging few days.
The 11 Labour-affiliated unions – which include Unite, Unison and the GMB – are expected to issue a joint statement on Wednesday saying “at some stage” the party will have to put a plan in place to elect a new leader.
Continue reading...First we heard its call, then a large, plump bird materialised beneath a bush, walking purposefully towards us
Few things beat breakfast in the bush. We were in the Mallee forest near Lake Gilles, about five hours north-west of Adelaide, and more or less halfway across Australia.
But although I am famous for enjoying my food, I love birds even more. And so when my guide Steve Potter detected a repetitive whistling call in the distance, our coffee and cornflakes had to wait.
Continue reading...A three-course, south Asian feast: spicy coconut dal, a cheesy toastie with a knockout pickle, and a fudgy, spicy halva cake to finish
Public institutions, from hospitals to museums, are the most international communities, both in the workforce and in those who visit. It’s something that became obvious to us when we were cooking our globally inspired meals for frontline workers at Kings College Hospital, London, during the pandemic. The menu at Café Jikoni, our new restaurant at the V&A East museum, speaks to the depth and breadth of east London’s diverse community, with dishes that cross borders, celebrate pluralism and taste like home – wherever that may be. After all, the best hospitality is all about making your guests feel at home.
Continue reading...Exclusive: An 80-bed MSF facility was bombed, burned and looted as civil conflict grows. The Guardian visited to witness first-hand the impact of the ‘trend of violence’ against healthcare in the country
The single-engine Cessna Caravan is flying over Nyirol county, in South Sudan’s Jonglei state. Its five passengers stare intently at the landscape streaking past below as the plane approaches the town of Lankien. On this hot day in late April, a team from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is back for the first time since shutting down their hospital there, 10 weeks earlier.
They know what had happened shortly after the hospital’s closure: a bomb was dropped on it by a government plane on 3 February, followed by a ground invasion that turned Lankien into a ghost town. But discovering the level of destruction first-hand is shocking, even to humanitarians accustomed to war zones.
Continue reading...Horticulturalists express alarm after award-winning Matt Keightley launches app that can automate designs
With glasses of champagne sipped among the peonies, Chelsea flower show is generally a friendly and genteel occasion. But this year, the secateurs have been drawn as gardeners clash over the use of AI in designing the exhibits.
Matt Keightley, an award-winning designer who has created gardens for figures including Prince Harry, is using artificial intelligence to design his garden for the prestigious show, held at the Royal Hospital gardens in Chelsea, London, next week.
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