Anas Sarwar’s failed coup attempt bought Sir Keir Starmer more time in office, perhaps weeks, perhaps months.

On Monday, the Cabinet looked over the abyss at what the Prime Minister’s departure would mean and recoiled, horrified: international investors fleeing, a divisive leadership contest and no focus on May’s local elections.

Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, gave a more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger news conference in which he called for Starmer’s resignation, saying there had been “too many mistakes” and he had to put Scotland first. If he expected senior colleagues to follow, he was soon to be disappointed. Even Eluned Morgan, Welsh Labour Leader and fierce Starmer critic, who could have been expected to jump with Sarwar, was indisposed in a Cabinet meeting.

In Westminster at lunchtime you could have been forgiven for thinking Sir Keir Starmer was hours away from committing hara-kiri. “Anas isn’t enough on his own to tip Keir into going. It’d have to be a Cabinet minister. But we shouldn’t rule out Keir going: you can all f*** off; I’m off,” as one Government source put it.

By teatime any sniff of a coup was contained, as the Cabinet – slow off the mark – made it clear one by one they were behind Starmer. One by one, they lined up on social media and TV to keep him in........

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