Analysis: Has Starmer done enough to save his premiership?

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Analysis: Has Starmer done enough to save his premiership? 26 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleHenry Zeffman ,Chief political correspondent ,Chris Mason ,Political editor ,Iain Watson ,Political correspondentandNick Eardley ,Political correspondentPA MediaWas it enough? That is the question that matters after Sir Keir Starmer's speech.

Was it enough to avert a challenge to the prime minister's leadership less than two years after he won a landslide general election victory? In the first instance, the person whose answer to that question matters most - and this would have sounded like a strange joke just two days ago - is Catherine West. West, until the last 48 hours a relatively unknown former minister, told the on Saturday night she was willing to try to force a leadership contest if no one else came forward.

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But having heard the prime minister's speech, she is standing down from running as a stalking horse candidate and trying to trigger a formal leadership contest right now. A sigh of relief, in the immediate moment at least, for Downing Street - and for the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, as she is now advocating that the prime minister sets out a timetable for his departure, rather than leaving immediately. Burnham needs time to get back to Westminster first.

Those who have been organising the pro-Burnham push (or putsch) were concerned over the weekend that a swift contest would exclude him, as he is not an MP and needs to find a seat and win a by-election to be eligible. So they tried to persuade West to abandon her plan, and adopt their own instead – and they see her statement today as a big win for them. Labour MP backs down from leadership challenge but calls on Starmer to go by SeptemberBritish Steel nationalisation plans announced by StarmerElection results at a glanceIn the room for the prime minister's speech, the jeopardy hung heavy.

It was packed with loyalists willing Sir Keir on. It felt a little like a speech Iain Duncan Smith gave as Conservative leader in 2003, when, under intense pressure to stand down, he said "the quiet man is here to stay and he's turning up the volume". Those in the room punctuated his address with wild, perhaps over the top exuberant applause.

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He resigned three weeks later. For Sir Keir's speech, there weren't many MPs there and no cabinet ministers. The party chair Anna Turley and Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell were sitting in the front row.

The key figures to watch now then are Labour MPs. One MP sent an unsolicited text, pointing out that the prime minister was introduced by a whip, those responsible for party discipline. The implication from the MP was this was evidence of desperation.

"That speech made me feel sorry for the PM. He looks panicky and out of his depth. "I watched that thinking of all my constituents who told me on their doorsteps in the last few weeks that he has to go and they won't vote Labour until he does.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.