Lewis Goodall

It now is another prime minister who has come to power by a general election, but left via a coup.

And turned against him viciously so that it is now almost inevitable that Andy Burnham becomes the next Prime Minister of this country.

Is Andy Burnham ready?

Is the country ready?

Welcome to the News Agents.

It's John.

It's Maitlis.

It's Lewis.

It is less than two years since Keir Starmer won a landslide general election.

Less than two years since he said that politics would tread less heavily on people's lives and that stability would be returning.

And here we are, the lectern out again in Downing Street, Keir Starmer announcing his resignation, pushed from office.

his backbenchers, his own cabinet, realising, deciding that he was not up to the job to face the populist surge from the right of reform and they wanted someone else to take over.

Look, Lewis, you said a moment ago that the herd moved.

The herd didn't move.

The herd stampeded.

I mean, this was the parliamentary Labour Party saying, Keir, you're not up to the job.

And I'm told that the cabinet were kind of almost ringing round each other before they spoke to Starmer, so that there was a sort of agreed line among a sizable chunk of the cabinet.

on those Friday phone calls that took place and that even until last night, those cabinet members didn't know what Keir Starmer was going to come out and say when he opened the door of Downing Street today or whether indeed he was going to open the door of Downing Street today.

They were still in the dark.

They assumed because of the Rachel Sylvester story that in The Observer that he would come out and announce his resignation.