(MENAFN) Allies of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have signaled that he would vigorously fight any attempt by Labour MPs to unseat him. Loyalists fear his position could come under immediate threat, possibly shortly after the upcoming Budget.

Critics argue the government is in “full bunker mode,” which “won’t help the government out of the hole we’re in.” Friends of Starmer are particularly concerned about what they see as plotting to replace him, with potential challengers including cabinet members Wes Streeting, Shabana Mahmood, Ed Miliband, and backbenchers such as Louise Haigh.

“He will fight this,” one minister said, recalling the 2021 Hartlepool by-election, which Labour lost, prompting Starmer to consider resigning. “This is not a Hartlepool moment. He is one of only two people alive who have won a general election for Labour. It’d be madness to run against him after 17 months.”

Opinion polls indicate Starmer is deeply unpopular, and the Labour Party has garnered only about a fifth of the electorate’s support recently. However, a leadership challenge requires 20% of MPs—81 nominations—to trigger a contest, making any move far from straightforward.

Downing Street is aware of the looming threat. “It’s all very well to say wait for the locals, but that’s my activist base I’m sending into the gunfire. I can’t lose all my councillors,” said a senior Labour MP. Another added, “The list of reasons for people to move after the Budget are growing by the day. If Wes is brave and moves he may well be rewarded by being prime minister by Christmas.”

Streeting’s office denied the claims. “These claims are categorically untrue. Wes’s focus has entirely been on cutting waiting lists for the first time in 15 years, recruiting 2,500 more GPs, and rebuilding the NHS that saved his life,” his spokesperson said.

Government sources criticized what they called internal briefings against loyal ministers. “Unfortunately there is a pattern of Keir's team briefing against his own people—they did it to Angela, Lisa, Lucy, now it’s Wes’s turn,” one official said.

Labour peer Maurice Glasman dismissed the challenge rumors as “just noise.” “There isn’t a clear direction, there isn’t a clear strategy... none of the candidates challenging Keir have any idea either,” he said. He acknowledged Mahmood’s qualities but stressed he fully supports Starmer and opposes any leadership contest.

Supporters argue a contest could plunge Labour into chaos similar to the Conservatives’ final years in office and jeopardize Starmer’s international relationships, including with US President Trump. Yet some ministers worry about the party’s precarious position. “It’s terrible. He [Starmer] is hated out there. It is worse than it got under Corbyn. I don’t see how this is sustainable until May,” one minister said.

Starmer sees his battle with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as generation-defining, believing he has the energy to defeat Farage. However, growing numbers of colleagues remain unconvinced. “We are not like the Tories. We’re not going to change leader more than once in a parliament,” said one Labour MP elected last year.

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