Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Polly Toynbee

Let’s not deny the good work Labour has done. But Starmer is too timid for the radical remedies needed now

Keir Starmer at Horntye Park sports complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, 5 February 2026.
Keir Starmer at Horntye Park sports complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, 5 February 2026. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Labour is in the deepest trouble. A juicy leadership drama ignites all Westminster-watchers, another spellbinding live-action theatre of rising and falling stars, duels, betrayals of trust, new alliances and old ones broken.

Some would pull back from this vortex. Is regicide absolutely necessary when “stability” is what people and markets say they want and vox pops groan, “Not another one!” After less than two years, with worse turmoil ahead from the Trump war, now, really?

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.