Overview
- Wes Streeting and Keir Starmer say the hostile briefings did not come from Downing Street, with both expressing frustration and Starmer pledging to deal with anyone responsible.
- A coordinated push on Tuesday naming Streeting as a would‑be challenger backfired, hardening backbench coordination and accelerating leadership manoeuvring across factions.
- Rachel Reeves dropped a planned income‑tax rise following revised OBR forecasts, a U‑turn reported to have triggered a sell‑off in the pound and higher borrowing costs.
- MPs warn of potential heavy losses in May’s local, Scottish and Welsh contests, yet Labour’s rule requiring 81 MPs to back an alternative keeps an immediate leadership contest unlikely.
- Multiple reports cite a toxic culture and internal rivalries in No 10, as a senior Scottish Labour figure calls for both Starmer and chief of staff Morgan McSweeney to go.