{"id":89910,"date":"2026-02-10T07:46:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T07:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=89910"},"modified":"2026-02-10T08:51:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T08:51:50","slug":"desperate-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2026\/02\/10\/desperate-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Desperate people"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on Keir Starmer to stand down yesterday<\/a>. Maybe he expected others to follow suit. They didn't. So why did he go out on a limb? I can offer three reasons.<\/p>\n

First, he is leading a part of the Labour Party that will be shredded in the polls to be held in May. Those he hoped would follow are in the Cabinet. They are not up for the election in May.<\/p>\n

Second, he needs to get these excuses for failure in early. That's what yesterday was about. He is trying to save his own political skin when the likelihood is that demands for his resignation will be made in May.<\/p>\n

Third, none of Starmer's rivals wants to take responsibility for the trashing of the Labour Party that will take place in May in the various elections being held then. They want Starmer to be responsible for those failures before calling for him to go. So, it pays all of them to bide their time. For Sarwar, the exact opposite logic holds true.<\/p>\n

So, did Sarwar launch a coup only to be surprised by the fact that no one followed? I don't think so. For him, the excuses were essential now because he has nothing more to lose. Those who will inevitably topple Starmer can afford to wait.<\/p>\n

Sarwar might, and not for the first time in his career, look to have misjudged the situation, but all he revealed is that he, like many in Labour, is desperate at the state they're in, knowing that the game for the Party is already up. Seen in this way, his desperate act was the rational behaviour of a desperate man in a desperate situation created by desperate people, all of whom are entirely beyond his control. Such is the state of Labour Party politics right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on Keir Starmer to stand down yesterday. Maybe he expected others to follow suit. They didn’t. So why did
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