Keir Starmer has been maintaining a notably low profile on the campaign trail as Labour prepares for significant losses in the upcoming local elections. The Prime Minister is spending the day chairing a Downing Street summit on anti-Semitism and a Cabinet meeting focused on the Middle East crisis.
Yesterday, Sir Keir was in Armenia attending a European political community summit. His only recent campaign engagement is believed to have been folding leaflets in Camden, his own Commons constituency, on Friday.
Aides insist the Premier, whose personal approval ratings are hovering near record lows, is occupied with his official duties. However, he did find time to watch his beloved Arsenal defeat Fulham in North London on Saturday.
Other Cabinet ministers have been desperately flooding key battlegrounds such as London and the North West, where Labour is expected to lose a substantial number of councillors. Polls also point to disastrous results in the Scottish and Welsh Parliamentary elections.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar this morning pleaded with voters not to punish him for the PM's 'disappointing' performance. He stated that supporting the party north of the border is 'not an endorsement of Keir Starmer', adding that he shares the 'anger' and does not 'recoil' from calls for the Premier to resign.
The PM is expected to undertake at least one more campaign visit before election day on Thursday. Other recent visits include a trip to Scotland on April 18, where he boarded a Vanguard submarine at the naval base in Clyde.
Speculation is mounting about Sir Keir's prospects of retaining his position after the elections. A group of backbenchers may send an open letter urging the PM to set a timetable for his departure in the wake of the local elections. This move would mirror the coup orchestrated by Gordon Brown's allies against Tony Blair in 2006, when several ministerial aides, including Tom Watson, resigned. Within 24 hours, Sir Tony had yielded to the pressure.
The plotting has intensified as more polls indicate Labour is on track for catastrophic results on Thursday. Insiders fear the party could lose over a thousand council seats, in addition to being heavily defeated in Scotland and Wales Parliamentary contests.
Sir Keir has been desperately seeking ways to survive the backlash from his own MPs, after barely clinging on through the Mandelson scandal. The Government has scheduled the King's Speech for next Tuesday in an attempt to 'reset' his premiership. Loyalists have also warned about the consequences of changing leaders, suggesting it could trigger an early general election.
