Newslinks for Wednesday 11th February 2026

Allies admit Starmer is too ‘weak’ to sack Streeting after coup speculation

“Sir Keir Starmer is currently too “weak” to sack leadership rival Wes Streeting, the UK prime minister’s allies have admitted, as an uneasy truce descended on the Labour party. The health secretary, suspected by Number 10 of being part of a coup attempt, has been forced to put his ambitions on hold, declaring on Tuesday that Starmer had his “full support”. Starmer urged cabinet ministers to get on with their jobs and to bring an end to leadership speculation, which was sparked after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on Monday for the prime minister to quit. With tensions between Number 10 and Streeting running high, Starmer’s team said the aim now was to calm the situation and reach the relative safety of a House of Commons half-term recess, which starts on Thursday. “I don’t think he can sack Wes, I don’t think he has the strength to sack anyone right now,” said one Starmer ally. “He’s too weak.” A member of Starmer’s team said: “Sacking Wes would just uncork even more political chaos of the kind we’re trying to avoid.” Streeting told reporters that Starmer had not threatened to sack him. Streeting’s team strongly denied the health secretary was working with Sarwar to bring down the prime minister, in what was seen by cabinet ministers as a failed coup.” – Financial Times

• Streeting still ready to challenge Starmer despite show of unity, allies say – The Guardian
• Starmer ‘too weak’ to sack Streeting, allies admit – Daily Telegraph
• Buy Rayner and Sell Streeting, Say UK Labour Insiders as Drama Ebbs – Bloomberg
• Miliband and Burnham turn on Streeting over ‘coup attempt’ – Daily Telegraph
• Ministers warned not to copy Wes Streeting’s release of messages with Peter Mandelson – The Guardian

Comment:

• And the winner from all this is … Ed Miliband – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
• The Starmer palace coup is a national disgrace – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Daily Telegraph
• Dismal PM is rudderless but what follows will be far worse… UK is being dragged into socialist future it never asked for – Ross Clark, The Sun
• Why I’ve bet on unflashy John Healey to lead Labour – Matthew Parris, The Times
• If Labour lurches to the Left, the market mayhem will make Truss fiasco look like fiscal rectitude – Alex Brummer, Daily Mail
• Anyone who thinks Rayner is the answer to Britain’s problems needs their head examined – Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph

> Today:

> Yesterday:

Starmer’s ex-No 10 spin doctor loses Labour whip over link to sex offender

“Sir Keir Starmer’s former media chief has been suspended from Labour over his links to a convicted sex offender after the Prime Minister faced pressure over the issue from his own MPs, The i Paper has learnt. Matthew Doyle, who now sits in the House of Lords, has had the Labour whip withdrawn over his campaigning for Sean Morton, an ex-Labour councillor in Moray, Scotland, after the candidate was charged with possessing indecent images of children in December 2016. Morton later admitted sex offences. It comes after The i Paper approached No 10 and Baron Doyle over pressure applied by Labour MPs on Starmer to address the issue as the PM addressed a meeting of the parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) while fighting for his political future. In a statement, Doyle apologised for his past association with Morton and admitted “extremely limited” contact with him after his conviction. Starmer asked Doyle to give up the whip after seeing off a botched coup attempt over links between another of his appointees – Peter Mandelson – and the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.” – The i

• Lord Doyle ‘lied about link to paedophile’ claims Labour – The Times
• Starmer’s former spin doctor suspended over links to sex offender – Daily Telegraph
• Former senior aide to Starmer loses whip over friendship with sex offender – The Guardian
• Starmer plunged into fresh crisis as paedophile-linked peer and former comms chief suspended from Labour – The Independent

Comment:

• How Labour women are torpedoing Starmer’s boy’s club – Kitty Donaldson, The i
• Starmer may have survived a ‘political near death experience’ by the skin of his teeth, but insiders say it may be too late to save his party – Dan Hodges, Daily Mail

> Today:

Labour’s taxes are ‘shameful assault’ on high street says Badenoch

“Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of a “shameful assault” on our high streets amid warnings of a pandemic-like apocalypse for small businesses. The Conservative leader insisted she can reverse the decline of the nation’s town centres and kickstart a jobs boom. And she vowed to end the scourge of boarded-up shops which she blames on Labour’s punishing JobsTax and sky-high business rates. Mrs Badenoch told the Express: “This Government is hammering our high streets out of existence. I’ve spoken to businesses across the country, all of whom say that Labour’s endless tax rises and red tape are making it so much harder for them to stay afloat. This is a shameful assault on the very heart of so many communities, and it cannot continue.” Her blistering attack comes as a new report revealed soaring business rates, wage costs and energy prices are killing the high street with 38 shops closing every day.” – Daily Express

• Why Labour can be blamed for your haircut becoming more expensive – The i
• High streets under strain as SME crisis deepens, MPs warn – Drapers

Comment:

• Rachel Reeves’s ‘jobs tax’ is killing High Streets – Andrew Griffith, Daily Express

News in brief:

• The conservative case for Keir Starmer: Who will keep Left-wing factions in check? – Mary Harrington, UnHerd
• I have so much in common with Angela Rayner, so why can’t I stand her? – Angela Epstein, The Spectator
• No culture above women’s rights – Rebecca Paul, The Critic
• The Labour Party has doomed itself to oblivion – Daniel Hannan, CapX
• No one knows what Labour members want – Ethan Croft, The New Statesman