Could Starmer really be facing a leadership contest?

Perhaps it is simply a matter of inexperienced Labour backbenchers descending into a state of panic, or lobby journalists looking for a bit of excitement, but a question is being asked around Westminster that would have seemed beyond belief after last year’s decisive election result: How can we get rid of Keir Starmer?”

- SEAN O'GRADY

As Margaret Thatcher remarked, in somewhat similar circumstances:

"It's a funny old world." Is it easy to ditch an elected prime minister?

No, and rightly so. If every time a premier taking tough decisions incurred unpopularity, parliamentary democracy could hardly function. Starmer's victory last year represented, in part, a personal mandate for him as well as Labour. It is asking a lot for that to be put aside by his own backbenchers; indeed, given that about half of them got their new jobs only last July, they owe something to Starmer.

Once upon a time, prime ministers were only ousted by their own parties in the most unusual of circumstances; it happened in both world wars at moments of extreme jeopardy. It later became more common, but only during the last period of Conservative government did it become routine.

Can Starmer be removed as Labour leader?