Starmer has sacked his deputy – and there’s more to come

On Friday a shell-shocked Keir Starmer promised the nation he took full responsibility for the disastrous panoply of local, mayoral and by-election results.

Now he has fired his deputy for running a poor campaign.

Angela Rayner, who like him is elected by Labour members, was relieved of her job as party chair which involves overseeing Labour election campaings.

It has unleashed a vicious torrent of briefing and triggered a new phase in Labour’s civil war. But the Labour leader has not stopped there.

Sir Keir Starmer is understood to be preparing an even more wide ranging reshuffle, taking out several of his most senior appointees who he gave jobs barely a year ago.

Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor; Nick Brown, the chief whip and Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary could all be demoted.

These might not be household names, but Keir Starmer thinks that’s precisely the problem.

But are they the reason Labour did so badly, or do Keir Starmer’s problems lie closer to home?

Labour MPs believe the Labour leader needs to look more passionate, connect better with the public, perform better on TV, come up with credible policies and get a better operation around him.

All of these things, you can’t blame on a deputy.