Labour civil war erupts as Keir Starmer's allies label rebels 'idiotic hypocrites' over plot to topple PM

Scottish Labour MPs were also urged to reflect on the 2024 General Election.

"These idiots need to stop being part of the problem and start talking up a Government that's ended austerity in Scotland and delivered so much north of the border," one source close to the Prime Minister told The Times.

Another insider added: "They're hypocrites. They're idiots if they think they would have won their seats without Keir."

The Prime Minister's supporters also warned it was "ill-advised" for MPs to move against Sir Keir.

However, Labour is bracing for a catastrophic defeat in the upcoming Scottish Parliament Election, with Sir Keir's 2024 victory expected to dwindle to a third-place finish behind the SNP and Reform UK.

A Scottish Labour source told The Times: "We dropped all Labour branding from Anas's new years speech yesterday."

"The general sense is things aren't getting better across the country so people don't trust Labour generally even if we were to offer them everything they wanted," the insider added.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar acknowledged on Monday that Starmer "is not popular with the public right now" and suggested high-profile MPs would best serve the campaign by staying in London.

Despite speculation about Mr Streeting's ambitions, the Health Secretary is keeping his powder dry.

He said: "No. I'm doing the job that Keir Starmer has asked me to do, and Anas Sarwar wants me to do, which is cutting NHS waiting lists and getting our NHS back on its feet."

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has emerged as another potential leadership contender.

Mr Sarwar appeared to put clear blue water between Scottish Labour and Sir Keir's Government earlier this week.

“I know that across Scotland people are angry, frustrated and impatient with the pace of change at Westminster,” the Scottish Labour leader said.

“I do believe that no Labour Government at Westminster, however well intentioned, principled or capable, could have undone the damage of two decades in just two years.

“The UK Labour Government has many meaningful achievements which they need to shout louder about, but it is also fair to say that they haven’t got everything right.

“And there are many challenges they still must confront. I get it. I don’t just see it. I feel it across Scotland.

"I know the Prime Minister and the UK Labour Government are not popular with the public right now.

"So, I am not running to be Scotland’s First Minister in denial of that truth. I am running to be Scotland’s First Minister in defiance of it.”

However, Sir Keir appeared to try to reassure his top allies about Labour's chances in the first Cabinet meeting of the year.

Addressing Cabinet colleagues in No10 yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “A Labour Government renewing the country or a Reform movement that feeds on grievance, decline and division.

"They want a weaker state, they want to inject bile into our communities, they want to appease Putin. This is the fight of our political lives and one that we must relish.

“I do not underestimate the scale of the task. But I have no doubt about this team. Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither.”