As Sir Keir Starmer returns to Britain from his ‘kowtow’ trip to China, an old Chinese curse comes to mind: may you live in interesting times.
Even without the constantly expanding global crises, from Ukraine to Greenland to Venezuela to Iran, the Prime Minister faces domestic crises in almost every area – not least his own survival as PM.
If he thought that putting Andy Burnham back in his box last week by denying him the right to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election would somehow secure his position as PM then Sir Keir has another thing coming.
Our revelation that Angela Rayner has built up a million-pound war chest is a demonstration of the readiness of his would-be challengers to come at him from every wing of the party.
All three of the names most likely to run are now claiming to have the 81 MP backers needed to force a leadership contest.
As well as Mr Burnham, Health Secretary Wes Streeting seems to find new ways every week of confirming his candidacy for a vacancy that does not, as yet, exist – without ever actually declaring that he is going to go for the job.
Now it is Angela Rayner in the spotlight, whose forced resignation over unpaid stamp duty has provided her with the time and determination to plot her bid for the top job.
The manoeuvrings of Labour MPs might make for political intrigue, but all this unrest and uncertainty is disastrous for the country.
PM Keir Starmer has come under pressure after he blocked Andy Burnham from running in the Gorton and Denton by-election
The party’s civil war deepened over the decision of its NEC to block Andy Burnham from standing in the seat
It is bad enough that Sir Keir is one of the most spineless leaders our country has ever known, who U-turns at the first sign of pressure and who behaves as if he doesn’t have a clue why he actually wants to be Prime Minister.
But with the world in crisis and with so many domestic problems that need urgent action, we need a Prime Minister with clarity of purpose and a determination to see things through.
Instead, we have one so malleable that many of his own MPs are no longer willing to defend government policy because they have no idea from one day to the next when the next U-turn will come.
It now seems near-certain that all this will come to a head after the May local elections, when Labour is expected to suffer a drubbing.
So it is no wonder that Labour MPs are already talking up and considering alternative leaders.
But they should be careful what they wish for. Angela Rayner’s rise to the Cabinet might be a compelling personal example of social mobility, but if she became PM she would pursue an agenda more Left-wing than any previous British government.
Angela Rayner has reportedly built up a million-pound war chest as she prepares a challenge for Labour’s top job
Health secretary Wes Streeting also seems to find new ways every week of confirming his candidacy for a vacancy without ever actually declaring that he is going to go for the job
There is a widespread belief that Ed Miliband would become Chancellor – as if the problem with the economy today is that Rachel Reeves is not Left-wing enough.
Reform already has a double-digit poll lead over Labour. Angela Rayner as PM would be one of the biggest gifts to Reform imaginable.
As it is, we now have a PM viewed – as one MP put it – as too toxic to campaign in the crucial Gorton and Denton by-election.
It is almost impossible to see how Sir Keir recovers. And if Labour loses the seat to Reform at the end of this month, it may well bring the push to end Keir Starmer’s leadership forward from May.
