Sir Keir Starmer found himself in political Zugzwang, a chess player at a disadvantage because of an obligation to make a move. There were no good outcomes.

Starmer used the steadily dwindling reserves of his authority to block Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, from attempting to return to Parliament as MP for the newly vacated seat of Denton and Gorton. The alternative was months of speculation about when Burnham would strike against him.

Now a significant portion of the Labour left believes Starmer has doomed himself to an even speedier demise. They claim the Prime Minister’s decision will foster greater internal conflict in the months ahead, and make the Government’s chances of getting changes to SEND in schools or welfare reform through Parliament even harder.

Backbencher, Kim Johnson, highlighted this overwrought hand-wringing when she told Times Radio on Monday morning: “Keir Starmer now needs to consider his own position as leader of this party.”

The left is worried this weekend’s events have made Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s coronation unavoidable because there is no other viable candidate to succeed Starmer.........

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