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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Simon Jenkins

Ousting Starmer over Mandelson would be madness – yet it’s open season in Westminster

Keir Starmer at Kenton united synagogue in north London on Thursday.
Keir Starmer at Kenton united synagogue in north London on Thursday. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Does the United Kingdom really need a new prime minister? In particular, does it need Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner or Ed Miliband, reportedly lining up to replace Sir Keir Starmer?

The answer is surely no, not now and not after whatever the May elections may indicate. A change of government not even two years in office cannot be in the national interest. Yet Britain’s political community appears to be cohering round just such a defenestration. It seems the only way it knows how to hold power to account, giving it the seventh leader inside a decade. Parliamentary democracy is dysfunctional.

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