Lammy on Sky: “No Timetable for Departure”; Starmer Will Stay
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said on Monday morning that Sir Keir Starmer will not set out a timetable for his departure from Downing Street. “There will be no timetable for departure,” Lammy said, adding that he had spoken to the Prime Minister twice on Sunday. The remarks formally close down the weekend reporting from ITV’s Robert Peston, the i Paper and the Mail On Sunday, all of which suggested Starmer was actively weighing whether to set a date for his own exit, and lock in the path through Makerfield. Starmer will fight any contest if one is triggered; he will not pre-announce his own departure.
Lammy is one of the cabinet ministers who would be at greatest risk of losing his post under either a Burnham or a Streeting leadership, which gives the public denial a partisan flavour — but it also reflects a coordinated Number 10 position. The Lammy line is consistent with Lisa Nandy’s Sunday morning intervention on BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg dismissing the leadership talk as “froth and nonsense”. The decision is also a binding signal to the gilts market, which sold off sharply on Friday on the assumption of a Burnham-Rayner economic programme: a longer leadership timeline gives the Treasury more time to communicate the autumn Budget framework and reduces the immediate pressure on the curve. Markets are likely to give back some of last week’s panic premium at the Monday open.