Why Keir Starmer must face down Labour troublemakers like Sadiq Khan

Growing unrest within his party over his stance on Israel will be good training for Keir Starmer – and a good opportunity for voters to see him react under pressure, says Andrew Grice

London mayor Sadiq Khan is the most senior Labour figure to call for an Israeli ceasefire, defying Keir Starmer’s party line (PA)

Two weeks is a long time in politics. Keir Starmer has had a painful lesson in how nothing is set in stone and how quickly things can change.

When Labour “won” the party conference season, Starmer’s authority over his party was unchallenged and he looked like a prime minister in waiting. Suddenly, Labour’s dangerous split over the Israel-Hamas war has changed that. Starmer’s authority is being challenged by internal critics who think his pro-Israel stance does not show enough empathy with the Palestinians. Some 50 Labour MPs, one in four, have called for a ceasefire, and more support the idea privately, including several frontbenchers.

The marginalised Corbynite hard left has found a way back from the wilderness by making common cause with the soft left, the natural home of Starmer, who opposed Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq (at the time, not after the event like some senior Labour figures). Starmer allies are right to argue that the internal forces lined up against him include some “who do not regard themselves as on Israel’s side and see this as a chance to rally the left around a cause”. His problem is that his critics extend way beyond such people.