"Senior Labour figures now believe Starmer is already toast"

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So runs the headline on a piece by Keven Schofield that went up on Huffington Post this morning in the wake of Labour's humiliation in the Caerphilly Senedd by-election. 

He quotes an "insider" (apparently they have them in the Labour Party too) as saying:

"I think people are now in a place where they believe this can’t continue and we can’t go into massive midterm elections with him in charge.

"The chances of him being gone my Christmas is massively under-priced. People will let the Budget happen at the end of November, and then there could be a move against him.

"If a new leader comes in then and puts 5 per cent on the polls, suddenly things look a lot better. We don’t get utterly decimated in Wales, the Scottish result is a bit better and you save a whole load of councillors."

My impression that Starmer lacks the personality to inspire is reinforced by what Schofield says:

If he does end up being ousted, Starmer's critics say he will only have himself to blame.

Never the most clubbable of politicians, the PM is rarely seen in the Commons, where many of his predecessors could be seen chatting to their MPs, listening to their concerns and getting a feel for the mood within the party.

In the past two months he has only taken part in four parliamentary votes, all of which happened on the same day.

Schofield also reports that Morgan McSweeney singularly failed to impress a meeting of Labour peers. As one told him:

"There was no energy, no ideas and he didn’t have any answers to our questions. It was really very damaging."

"Sell Starmer" is my share tip too, for what it's worth.