Sir Keir Starmer's own allies have warned that the Prime Minister is "too weak" to sack Wes Streeting after a string of rumoured coup attempts.
After the dust settled on a chaotic Monday which saw Anas Sarwar call for the PM to resign, Mr Streeting was forced to rein in his ambitions.
But Sir Keir's allies have since issued a damning assessment of their own Prime Minister.
"I don't think he can sack Wes, I don't think he has the strength to sack anyone right now," one told the FT. "He's too weak."
One of his team added: "Sacking Wes would just uncork even more political chaos of the kind we’re trying to avoid."
But the cork could burst in just weeks - Mr Streeting's own backers insist he still wants to replace the PM, and is willing to stand against him after February 26's by-election in a bid to get in ahead of potential rival Angela Rayner.
After Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, the PM and Health Secretary held one-on-one "clear the air" talks, one source said.
But a Streeting ally then told The Guardian: "Nothing has changed... There was a big performance of unity yesterday but Keir is no safer than he was yesterday.
"At this point Keir is a zombie. He is in the Theresa May phase of his leadership."
A spokesman for the Health Secretary said that claims of a challenge were "categorically not true".
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...
Labour slumps to fourth as Plaid Cymru take key ward in crunch by-election
Billy Shaw won the Fishguard North East by-election
|Labour slumped to fourth place as Fishguard North East by-election as Plaid Cymru came out on top in a key Welsh by-election.
Billy Shaw from Rhun ap Iorwerth's party won the Fishguard North East by-election on Pembrokeshire Council, with a 118 vote majority over Liberal Democrat Caleb Churchill.
Reform UK's Peter John came in third, with Labour's Paul Howe in fourth.
Richard Holden says rail fare dodgers 'drive people round the bend'
When asked about people fare dodging, Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden told GB News: "We have to take it really seriously.
"There's no point prosecuting people if the laws are not properly enforced in the first place. It really drives people round the bend when they see people dodging fares.
"If people aren't paying their way they need to be prosecuted but we need to see police officers on our trains and on our streets to ensure the law is properly enforced."
Richard Holden says Labour is 'not governing' at the moment
Richard Holden on GB News this morning
|GB News
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden told GB News: "We have a Government that is not governing at the moment.
"We need a Government taking action, not cabinet ministers trying to play for position in a potential future leadership contest."
John Healey to announce boost to British troops in Norway
The number of British troops in Norway will double as part of efforts to bolster defences in the High North against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Defence Secretary John Healey will also commit UK forces to Nato’s Arctic Sentry mission, the alliance’s initiative to improve security in the region to help address Donald Trump’s concerns over Greenland.
The promises to bolster the defence of the Arctic region came as former head of the armed forces General Sir Nick Carter called for greater European co-operation to deter Russia and support Ukraine.
Mr Healey, on a visit to Royal Marines at Camp Viking in the Norwegian Arctic, promised to increase the number of troops deployed to the country from 1,000 to 2,000 over three years.
DWP 'to reach further into YOUR lives' under bank account snooping powers, MPs warn
The DWP is set to 'reach further into citizens lives' under new powers | GETTY A parliamentary spending watchdog has warned that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) must exercise its newly acquired bank account surveillance powers with restraint, cautioning that public confidence hangs in the balance.
The Public Accounts Committee raised concerns that the DWP has yet to adequately explain how it intends to deploy these substantial capabilities in a manner that preserves trust among citizens.
Greens most popular party among 16-25 year olds
Zack Polanski's Green Party is the most popular party among 16-25 year olds, according to a new poll.
A new poll for ITV News of 1,040 young people found 34 per cent intended to vote for the Greens.
Meanwhile, Labour has support from 28 per cent of that age group, with Reform UK on 18 per cent.
The Conservatives are on 10 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on eight per cent.
More young people prefer Nigel Farage to Sir Keir Starmer, with nine per cent saying they view the Reform UK leader with strong favourability, compared with just six per cent for the Prime Minister.
Keir Starmer to face Kemi Badenoch at PMQs later today
Starmer and Badenoch will go head to head later today
|PA
Sir Keir Starmer will face Prime Minister’s Questions later today after fighting back against pressure to quit.
It comes after the Prime Minister pledged to "never walk away" from his mandate, and said he would lead the Labour Party into the next general election.
Sir Keir hit out at infighting within his party and said the political "turmoil" would not stop him after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to resign.
The Prime Minister insisted his top team was "strong and united" as he thanked ministers at a Cabinet meeting for rallying around him with public messages of support.
We'll bring you all the updates here on the Politics Live blog and on PMQs Live, where Tom and Gloria will be joined by Labour MP for Bury North James Frith and Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith.
Labour set to appoint 'Queen of Woke' as Britain’s first female Cabinet Secretary after string of departures
The so-called "Queen of Woke", Dame Antonia Romeo, is set to become Britain’s first female Cabinet Secretary - the head of the Civil Service.
She replaces Sir Chris Wormald - set to depart in a major shake-up of Sir Keir Starmer's operation who had been panned for his reluctance to bring reforms to Whitehall.
Sir Chris, the shortest serving Cabinet Secretary in history, is rumoured to have been offered a seat in the Lords in exchange for his resignation.
He is also set to receive a £250,000 payoff, in addition to his £2.5million taxpayer-funded pension.
A decade ago, Dame Antonia served as Her Majesty's Consul General in New York where she was accused of “terrorising” staff who criticised her spending.
Dubbed by some the “Queen of Woke”, she had previously served as the “Civil Service gender inclusion champion”, and previously said that diversity and inclusion policies were crucial in Whitehall.
More From GB News