Thread by @thetimes

Sir Keir Starmer's attempts to rewrite the part's leadership election rules are reportedly "dead" this morning after being blocked by unions thetimes.co.uk/article/labour…

Sir Keir Starmer is scheduled to make only one speech to this year’s Labour Party conference

But at some point today, after the apparent collapse of his leadership reform package, plans are afoot for another
thetimes.co.uk/article/sir-ke…

Those around Starmer believe he will deliver a speech with echoes of Hugh Gaitskell - a cri de coeur for Labour’s modernisers

By delivering an unscheduled speech in a similarly defiant mood, Starmer would seek to prove to the country that he, too, is a fighter worthy of the country’s respect — the man of steely resolve that close aides describe

Starmer knows he is unlikely to be given another chance to reset his troubled leadership beyond this week

His allies were bullish

“People ask: why are we messing around with rule changes? Because this time last year we weren’t a functioning organisation,” one senior party figure said

Detractors say the backlash over the plans proves that Starmer has failed to master the art of factional compromise

Unions claim they were not consulted on the proposals, as do sources close to Angela Rayner

Even friendly figures are doubtful that Starmer has grasped the basics of his role. “He’s learning, slowly, how to do politics,” one ally admits. “But he doesn’t understand the need to make the weather, project himself and make an impact."

Angela Rayner’s supporters have made no secret of her unhappiness with the plan to gut the rulebook

She has declined to rally her allies in the union movement behind the reforms, which she views as “Keir’s mess to deal with”

Starmer’s team insist relations have thawed since May’s botched reshuffle, but there is often more than a whiff of insubordination about Rayner’s own interventions too

Today she tells The Times that Starmer struggles to connect emotionally with the public
thetimes.co.uk/article/angela…

Other would-be leadership candidates are a constant irritant

“Lisa Nandy is permanently on manoeuvres, and Andy [Burnham] and Sadiq [Khan] do nothing but attempt to outgun each other,” a source close to the leader’s office sighs

For now, with the apparent collapse of Starmer's voting reforms, it remains to be seen whether this year's party conference will be viewed as a humiliation for the Labour leader – or whether he can somehow regain some much-needed momentum thetimes.co.uk/article/sir-ke…