With Starmer’s enemies short on options, Labour MPs have to make do with gossip

In the corner of one of Westminster’s endless Christmas receptions, a Conservative veteran of the Brexit years admits they are somewhat baffled by the frenzied leadership speculation among the new Labour ranks.It was easy to forget, they said, given how many Tory leaders the party cycled through – but prime ministers were not that easy to dislodge.Theresa May’s predicament is a useful point of comparison. She lost a majority, lost multiple Commons votes on her flagship policy, lost dozens of ministers and cabinet ministers, had members of her own party selling “chuck Chequers” badges at her party conference, and narrowly survived a confidence vote before she was finally ousted. Yes, the Labour leader is polling at historic lows – but things can get a lot worse

No news whatsoever as Keir bores everyone to death. He’s a natural | John Crace

An afternoon with Keir Starmer isn’t necessarily many people’s idea of fun. A period of time when every minute feels like five.Sadly, for the select committee chairs who make up the liaison super-committee, they didn’t have the option of saying no. This was one of their unavoidable tri-annual encounters with the prime minister. Still, at least they all had the Xmas recess to look forward to at the end of the week

UK politics: Polanski claims Green support surging in London as five Labour councillors defect in Brent – as it happened

The Green party has announced that five councillors in Brent have defected to it from Labour. It describes this as the biggest block defection yet to the Green party.The defections follow seven others to the Green in London since September, when Zack Polanski took over as leader and party membership started to soar.Announcing the switches, Polanski said:The Green surge has just widened in London. What we’re witnessing in Brent mirrors what we’re hearing across the country on doorsteps and in polls

Former Scottish secretary hits out at ‘humiliating’ sacking by Keir Starmer in reshuffle

The former Scottish secretary Ian Murray has hit out at the prime minister for his “humiliating” sacking, despite deciding to remain a minister in the government.In a candid interview Murray said he had felt underappreciated in his cabinet role, and that he had been in two minds whether to accept his current position as technology minister.The minister also directly criticised Keir Starmer’s approach to the reshuffle, saying he had not given him an adequate explanation as to why he was moved.Murray’s comments underline how unhappy several ministers and ex-ministers remain about the September reshuffle. Several were moved to make way for new MPs to join the fold – including Murray, who was replaced by the recently returned former foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander

Labour’s Andrew Gwynne says he has no plans to give up seat for Andy Burnham

The former health minister Andrew Gwynne has dismissed as “idle speculation” reports he could resign his seat as part of an Andy Burnham “coup” against Keir Starmer.Allies of Burnham were reported on Sunday to have identified a shortlist of seats to allow the Greater Manchester mayor to return to Westminster in the new year.One of these seats is said to be that of Gwynne, who was suspended by the Labour party in February after a leak of offensive WhatsApp messages.One source was quoted as saying that Burnham allies had found a “nailed on” constituency, while another reportedly said a seat was “likely to come free shortly” before the local elections in May.In a post on X on Sunday, Burnham dismissed the reports as “quite a lot of rubbish”, adding: “Reminds me why I left Westminster in the first place!”However, the former health secretary – who has been critical of Starmer’s leadership – has refused repeatedly to deny he would return to parliament if the opportunity arose

Shabana Mahmood dismisses White House’s ‘civilisational erasure’ claims

The US government’s claims that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” because of mass migration are an attempt to score political points against Muslims, the home secretary has suggested.Shabana Mahmood dismissed the idea that European civilisation and national identities were under threat because of migration and said the UK had managed the challenges of multiculturalism “very well”.Her comments are the strongest response from a government minister so far to Donald Trump’s national security strategy. Published this month, it triggered alarm with its wide-ranging attack on European governments and suggestion that the US should promote “patriotic” political parties.Asked by Trevor Phillips on Sky News to respond to the strategy and its implicit criticism of Muslims in Europe, Mahmood said: “Others will want to make political points about whether there’s too many Muslims in Europe or not