Another hectic week in Westminster, leaving Starmer wishing that he was navigating calmer seas...
Read all about it in Who's Top Who's Not.
Top: Nigel Farage
Danny Kruger is the first sitting Tory MP to join Nigel Farage’s party (the current Reform version) and so a considerable scalp for Farage’s aim to be more representative. Kruger has received many plaudits from Tory colleagues and his continued commitment to conservatism as he sees it will make this move even more damaging to the Tories.
In addition, Maria Caulfield, former MP and health minister, also joined the steady stream of Conservative politicians heading for Reform. The addition of Kruger, and to a lesser extent Caulfied, makes Reform seem more mainstream and attractive to existing Tory voters. And the addition of Kruger – with his parliamentary and ministerial experience – is a feather in Farage’s cap.
But no party wants to be seen simply as adopting disaffected members from another, and certainly not with the Conservative Party’s downward trajectory. And there is a danger that as Reform continues to take on more ex-Tories, their claim to be the anti-establishment party of change offering something different starts to look less convincing.
Middle: Keir Starmer
Mole hills have turned into mountains for the Prime Minister this week. Not only is he facing age-old accusations that he lacks ideas and vision, but also that he lacks political nous and good judgement. Starmer’s quest to reset via his recent reshuffle seems a world away after Peter Mandelson was fired, and the PM’s Director of Strategy, Paul Ovenden, resigned after sexually explicit comments about Diane Abbott became public.
Starmer heads to Labour’s Party Conference next week after arguably his worst period in office. While he may say he is focussed on delivery, any tangible wins – such as the huge tech investment that was announced at the US state visit at Windsor - are being lost in the political noise. Starmer continues to lack a cohesive narrative to convince the country, and importantly his own party, to stick with him and if he doesn’t have one to present at Conference, it’ll only be a matter of time before heads turn towards a replacement.
Bottom: Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn
Ownership of ‘Your party’ appears to still be up for grabs as another rift has opened up between the two supposed co-leaders of the nascent party.
Things with Corbyn have not been going smoothly since former Labour MP Sultana – seemingly prematurely - announced their new party in July. Zarah seems to be developing a habit and jumped the gun again by sending out a payment link that may be a data breach. Hold your horses, Zarah!
The pair have now opened a public row over membership, with Corbyn threatening legal advice, and Sultana claiming the party is being run by a “sexist boys’ club”. While the party has managed to trundle on since July, its life expectancy seems increasingly short, especially with the Greens getting a burst of energy from their new leader. Legal advice certainly seems an intensification of the internal issues but if over 20,000 people have paid up already, as Sultana suggested, it seems there is an appetite for a party to the left of Labour. Whether it will be Your Party or someone else’s remains to be seen