Unhappy Labour MPs aren't ready to oust Starmer yet

Unhappy Labour MPs aren't ready to oust Starmer yet17 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleIain Watson,Political correspondentandHenry Zeffman, Jack Fenwick and Joe Pike,Political correspondentsReutersLabour is trailing in the polls and the prime minister's personal ratings have plumbed the depths.The party is facing losses in forthcoming elections: losing control of Wales, shedding councillors in England, and going into reverse in Scotland.To put the tin lid on it, the prime minister has been on the back foot over his appointment of Lord Mandelson to the job of ambassador to the US, and the subsequent sacking of senior civil servant, Sir Olly Robbins, in a row over security vetting.So the question being asked around Westminster is not 'should there be a Labour leadership contest?' – but 'why is such a contest not expected on 8 May', the day after the expected electoral drubbing?One Labour MP, Jonathan Brash, has called for Sir Keir to resign, and to set a timetable for his departure. Some others have agreed with this privately.Nonetheless it is significant that no-one is publicly echoing Brash's call and the prevailing mood seems to be against an imminent leadership challenge.One long-standing Labour MP has his take: "Keir Starmer is basically dead, isn't he? And because people think it is inevitable that he won't lead us into the next election, there isn't the rush."While there are some noises about having a so-called caretaker leader, many MPs would be reluctant to do this.As one of them put it: "We have to be sure that when there is a contest we can have a candidate who can lead us in to the next election."They added that it would be disastrous for trust if the party 'chopped and changed', and trying to find that candidate who can re-inspire the party, never mind the voters, is proving elusive.The one thing left and right seem to agree on is that there is no obvious leader-i...