PM Keir Starmer will be knocked down from a surprising source (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer doesn’t even have many supporters in his own party. The Parliamentary party would rather see Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner or Ed Miliband in charge. What does that grim parade of non-talent have in common? They’re not Keir Starmer. Which now seems to be the only qualification Labour MPs require in a potential leader. Not being Rachel Reeves probably helps.
I’d feel sorry for Starmer if he had the slightest insight into his own limitations, and wasn’t clearly destined for a pension-boosting legal career the moment this one ends. Yet despite Labour’s guns being trained firmly on its own leader, the party isn’t the biggest threat Starmer faces right now. Arch-challenger Andy Burnham can’t even get himself into Parliament, let alone No 10. Streeting and Rayner aren’t ready to move yet.
Nigel Farage is having enormous fun dismantling the Conservative Party, one defection at a time, and remains by far the biggest threat to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
He may yet prove Badenoch’s nemesis, but at least she’s putting up a fight. Starmer has identified Farage as a threat too, but the real challenge may take him by surprise.
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It comes from man I haven’t written much about, but probably will in future. His name is Zack Polanski, the, er, “charismatic” leader of the Green Party.
If you know anything about Polanski, you’ll probably have heard he offered hypnotherapy to help women increase the size of their breasts using his mind. I’m not going there.
Nor will I make cheap jokes about his teeth. Given how Americans malign poor British oral hygiene, Polanski’s wonky gnashers are the most patriotic thing about him.
I’m more interested in what comes out of his mouth. Polanski is wooing the crowd by flattering every left-wing fixation, banging on about Israel, open borders, trans politics, evil landlords, wealth taxes, Donald Trump, Israel, Gaza and Israel.
Occasionally he remembers he leads the Greens rather than a Trotskyist splinter group and mentions the environment.
Polanski’s great advantage over Starmer is simple. He isn’t in government. He can promise anything, say anything, knowing he won’t be held responsible for it.
Farage enjoys the same privilege, just as Starmer did before the last election.
Now Labour is in power, it’s constrained by reality, responsibility and delivery. It can’t whip up leftie crowds with fantasy politics or consequence-free slogans. Polanski can. And they’re lapping it up.
A mere 38% of 2024 Labour voters still support the party, according to YouGov. Of those who’ve moved by far the biggest number, 15%, have gone Green. Polanski’s party now boasts a remarkable 37% share among 18-to-24-year-olds.
We’ll see the impact at the crunch Gorton and Denton by-election on February 26, where Polanski will split the left and help smash Labour’s 13,400 majority.
But here’s the catch. The Greens won’t win. Weakening Labour only clears the path for Reform. Polanski may be Starmer’s nemesis, but Nigel Farage may walk away with the spoils.
