With the UK government resembling more and more a fifth series of The Thick of It, one can only imagine the conversations going on in the back rooms of Downing Street and Whitehall.
Keir Starmer is already struggling in the Department of Popularity, with 73% of the UK believing the prime minister is doing a bad job, as per a YouGov study.
Meanwhile, Labour seem to have started losing voters to the left, in the form of Zack Polanski’s Green Party, after months of Reform’s support growing on the right.
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In the last 24 hours, rumours have started to swirl that an internal coup could be on the cards at Number 10, with Wes Streeting the name tipped to possibly mount a challenge.
While Streeting has already come out to squash any ideas of a change in leadership, there always tends to be some truth in most rumours.
So, with all this mind, we’ve picked out three people who we think would be the frontrunners to become the next prime minister if Keir Starmer does indeed find himself ousted.
Wes Streeting
Currently the most likely candidate, purely because his name has been mentioned the most, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has solid foundation to challenge from.
While Streeting has already denied a plan to challenge Starmer, he does seem to hold just enough approval to mount a challenge.
While not the favourite of the Labour Party, Streeting has a strong media presence and is the 6th most popular current Labour MP, as per YouGov data, although he lags behind fellow cabinet ministers Lisa Nandy, Hilary Benn and Ed Miliband.
If indeed Streeting does manage to mount a challenge, we could see Downing Street become Downing Streeting.
Andy Burnham
Known as the ‘King of the North’ the current mayor of Greater Manchester is by far the most popular Labour politician currently.
Many would struggle to disagree that Burnham has done a great job in Manchester, helping it become the fastest-growing city in the UK outside of London.
YouGov has the ‘metro-mayor’ as the most liked Labour politician with a 34% positive opinion rate.
However, there remains one key issue with Burnham, he’s not an MP, and, while it’s not a legal requirement, it is generally accepted that a PM must also be an MP for obvious reasons such as partaking in PMQs.
In order for this to happen, Burnham would need to win a by-election which is possible, but would either require convenient timing, or a current MP to step down.
Burnham is known to have previously clashed with Starmer while his past comments have left the door firmly ajar.
Asked by the BBC in September about whether or not he would challenge for Labour Party leadership, Burnham said that it was “up to the party” to decide while adding “we need to get people back behind the Labour government”.
Lucy Powell
Despite riding high off a recent election to Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and speaking out against current plans from the chancellor to raise income tax, Powell remains a slight outsider.
While she is a popular figure, Powell is yet to reach the prominence of the main frontbenchers.
However, her defiant comments in response to Rachel Reeves’ reported plan to increase income tax suggest Powell could be one to take on the status quo, a key quality in anyone who wants to seize power from within.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, she spoke about the party sticking to its guns on the manifesto pledges it ran on before the general election last year.
She said: “If we’re to take the country with us then they’ve got to trust us.
“We want to make sure that ordinary working people are better off as a result of this Labour government and we’re putting more money back into the pockets of ordinary working people,” she said.
“That’s what that manifesto commitment is all about. And that’s what this Budget will be about I’m sure.”
She added: “It’s really important we stand by the promises that we were elected on and that we do what we said we would do.”
A new Labour leader?
While murmurings of change at Number 10 are still in their infancy, there certainly is a growing sentiment of a desire for change from within the Labour Party and from the general public.
With Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget on the horizon, and an expected raise in income tax on the cards, Starmer’s popularity could plummet even further by the end of the month.
While Starmer will of course try to hold onto power, the boat has certainly been rocked, Labour will just be hoping there are no icebergs lying in wait.