Keir Starmer is facing threats from a number of sources. Keir Starmer chalked up 18 months as prime minister earlier this month, but there has been little cause for celebration in Downing Street. The most notable event of the past week was his decision to ditch plans for the introduction of mandatory digital ID cards – Labour’s 13th major policy U-turn since the party’s landslide election victory in July, 2024. What made this climbdown so damaging was the fact that it came just four months after Starmer himself had announced the policy with great fanfare. “MPs are livid,” one disgruntled backbencher told HuffPost UK. “It’s another case of us being made to look like utter fools.” The mood inside No.10 was not helped by more manoeuvring by health secretary Wes Streeting , who implored the government to “get it right first time” rather than announcing policies only to end up ditching them. Chris Hopkins, political research director at pollsters Savanta, said voters are usually more forgiving of government U-turns than MPs and journalists. But he added: “The sheer number of Starmer’s U-turns means this is no longer. “What is worse is the political capital he tends to waste defending usually contentious policies, only to row back weeks later. It makes him look weak, indecisive and like he is very easily influenced by external noise. “None of these characteristics are what people want from their politicians, let alone their prime minister, whose popularity stands no chance of recovering if the image he gives to the public is one of cluelessness.” A Kick In The Ballots? Elections in Scotland, Wales and in councils across England are now just 16 weeks away, and remain the moment of maximum danger for Starmer, should the opinion polls be proved right and Labour is hammered. “The mood among MPs is febrile. I wouldn’t put tuppence on an outcome in any direction,” one veteran Labour figure said when asked if a challenge to Starmer’s leadership was now inevitable. Against this inauspicious backdrop, senior Labour politicians are now rallying behind the PM in an attempt to see off any attempts to replace him. His long-term ally and attorney general Lord Hermer went out to bat for his old pal at a meeting of the Tribune group of soft left Labour MPs on Tuesday night, telling them to “not throw away” the government’s achievements so far by ditching their leader. HuffPost UK understands Hermer will continue this pro-Starmer outreach work to the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in the months ahead, making the case for keeping the PM as someone who has known him personally for more than 30 years. He will also stress that Starmer wants to deliver long-term change, therefore getting rid of him after just two years makes no sense. Not everyone is convinced, however. A Labour MP said: “Hermer’s message seems to be ‘we’ve spent the last three years being as anti-soft left as we can possibly be, Keir doesn’t know any of your names, but please don’t dump him’.” Transport secretary Heidi Alexander made clear her backing for Starmer at a meeting of the political cabinet this week. She told her colleagues they needed to form a “Praetorian guard” around the prime minister to protect him from his opponents. However, one senior figure pointed out: “The real Praetorian guards killed a dozen Roman emperors.” More Tory Chaos Supporters of the PM believe that Robert Jenrick’s defection from the Conservatives to Reform UK presents Labour with a huge strategic opportunity. With the right of British politics at war itself, they argue that Starmer is best placed to unite progressive voters who want to keep Nigel Farage out of Downing Street at all costs. “ What Jenrick’s defection shows is the contrast between the chaos on the right and the stability and consistency of the Labour government,” said one government insider. “W hy would you throw away that big strategic advantage? “ The next election is going to be about who is most effective at winning over two voting blocs – the progressives and the right wing. “There was a concern that Reform and the Tories could reach some accommodation before the election, but there’s no chance of that now because there’s so much bad blood between them. “So there’s an opportunity for the PM and Labour to unite our voting bloc while the Tories and Reform are killing each other.” A Labour source added: “It doesn’t matter what rosette they wear, these are the same people who failed Britain and took money out of people’s pockets, made them less safe and stoked division in our country. “While the latest soap opera unfolds on the Tory and Reform benches, this Labour prime minister is delivering on the cost of living, bringing down waiting lists and keeping women and girls safe online.” A cabinet minister said Starmer needs to focus on “getting on with the job”. “What we’ve seen with Jenrick is another chapter in the chaos on the right that caused so much damage to the country under the Tories,” the MP said. “I n circumstances like that, our job is to get on with it. We’ve had higher than expected economic growth, good NHS waiting list figures, and Keir has stood up to Elon Musk on Grok. We do have a good story to tell.” A shake-up inside No.10 has also delivered results, according to senior Labour figures, most notably the appointment of Amy Richards as Starmer’s political director. A senior party source said: “Amy has really improved the political operation, which you can see through things like having trade union delegations and groups of MPs in to No.10. “She’s also reached out to some of the overlooked shadow ministers in the Commons and Labour grandees in the Lords.” There is no doubt, however, that Starmer still faces an uphill battle to hang on to his job. One gloomy MP said: “Keir is already off my leaflets and my social media and I won’t even bust a gut to defend a government policy because what’s the point when he’ll probably U-turn on it?” Starmer’s outriders are on the march – but is it already too late to save the PM? Related... 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