Sir Keir Starmer is considering sacking Rachel Reeves in a shock reshuffle, Labour insiders claim.
They claim the Prime Minister is prepared to let his Chancellor go as part of major adjustments to his senior team, planned for days following next month’s event.local elections.
One source described it as “a final roll of the dice” to restore Sir Keir’s leadership if the outcomes of the May 7 election are as bad as anticipated.
It is understood that Downing Street is considering then making Yvette Cooper – who is currently Foreign Secretary – Chancellor.
Nevertheless, this would not be well-received by Labour’s moderate-left MPs, who are pushing for Ed Miliband to take the position.
The report emerges as speculation grows that the Prime Minister has lost the backing of his Cabinet regarding thePeter Mandelson affair.
While 10 Downing Street anticipates that a cabinet change might prevent possible leadership contests, some believe it will instead accelerate Sir Keir’s downfall.
A source from Westminster stated: ‘Reshuffles tend to generate more adversaries than allies. This will likely be no different.’
Last night, a Labour MP cautioned Sir Keir that he no longer possessed the authority to restructure his senior team, let alone dismiss Ms Reeves.
However, one advisor stated: ‘It’s not accurate that he is too close to Rachel to fire her. Keir has heard these same arguments before when he was removing Morgan McSweeney [his previous Chief of Staff]. He now believes that firing people helps protect himself in the short term.’
A high-ranking Labour official stated: ‘This is the final effort of a dying man. He will have to be pulled out of No 10 with his nails still attached to the wallpaper.’
No. 10 chose not to respond.
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