Paddy O’Connell

When do we get a sign that a significant intervention's happened?

Is it a speech intervention?

Is it a tweet or an ex-posting?

From him or from his... From his rivals.

From his rivals.

So, well, I think we will... I'm expecting that we'll hear from Angela Rayner this afternoon at some point, although I don't think she's going to push for our contest.

I think Andy Burnham is due to speak at some event later this week.

But the Prime Minister also has two big moments to try and stamp his authority this week, too.

There's this big speech tomorrow.

And then on Wednesday, of course, is the King's speech, when the government has got a chance to put forward all the ideas and draft laws, things that they would like to achieve in Parliament.

And that's a huge opportunity.

to give Labour MPs things to be excited about, to give Labour MPs something to rally around because goodness knows that they need it.

And it's one of these kind of enormous big fancy state occasions and there'll be golden carriages and gleaming horses and all of that.

It's also a big risk, though, because if the King's speech comes out and Labour MPs look at it and they think, oh, most of those things work, well, that's a bit wishy-washy.

Not really much in that.

Then that might make them feel even more demoralised.

But at this point, it's hard to know where it's going to go.

But the unions have also demanded a meeting with Keir Starmer this week.

And, you know, the unions aren't all powerful in the way that they were in the 70s.

But they still pay the Labour Party's bills, right?