{"text":[[{"start":8.75,"text":"Sir Keir Starmer will fight to save his premiership on Monday as leadership rivals circle and he prepares to give a crucial “last chance” speech intended to contain a mutiny after Labour’s dire results in local and devolved elections."}],[{"start":23.75,"text":"Starmer was frantically rewriting the key address with allies on Sunday, against a backdrop of warnings that he could face a challenge on Monday if he fails to set out a convincing new direction for his ailing premiership."}],[{"start":37.4,"text":"Angela Rayner, Starmer’s former deputy, dialled up the pressure on Starmer, deploring a “toxic culture of cronyism” in the government and calling for leadership hopeful Andy Burnham to return to Westminster."}],[{"start":50.2,"text":"“The prime minister must now meet the moment and set out the change our country needs,” she said. “What we are doing isn’t working, and it needs to change. This may be our last chance.”"}],[{"start":61.7,"text":"Labour allies of Starmer feared that the speech might not do enough to satisfy the prime minister’s critics, admitting it would contain little new policy. “There’s a danger people see this as make or break,” said one ally."}],[{"start":74.75,"text":"Initial extracts released by Number 10 gave little inkling that Starmer was about to embark on a dramatic new course after the electoral rout in parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales and English councils on Thursday."}],[{"start":87.5,"text":"“To meet the challenges that our country faces incremental change won’t cut it,” Starmer will say. “On growth, defence, Europe, energy — we need a bigger response than we anticipated in 2024 because these are not ordinary times."}],[{"start":103.7,"text":"“Strength through fairness. It’s a core Labour argument. And you will see those values writ large in the King’s Speech [on Wednesday]. And you will see hope, urgency and exactly whose side we are on.”"}],[{"start":116.2,"text":"Although Starmer has insisted he will not drop his “red line” promises not to rejoin the EU single market or customs union, his speech has left some of his supporters thinking the lines could be softened at the next general election. "}],[{"start":130.3,"text":"The prime minister will say: “This Labour government will be defined by rebuilding our relationship and by putting Britain at the heart of Europe.”"}],[{"start":138.55,"text":"Catherine West, a former minister, has said she will listen to the speech before deciding whether to press ahead with her efforts to gather the 81 signatures needed to force a leadership contest."}],[{"start":149.65,"text":"Speculation was also rife among Labour MPs that Wes Streeting, health secretary, might launch a challenge if he mustered enough names, something strongly denied by his camp."}],[{"start":159.55,"text":"One Streeting ally said: “His position is that he’s not going to challenge Keir. In private conversations with No 10 he has been pretty upfront with them. He isn’t plotting a challenge, but is preparing in case it all falls apart.”"}],[{"start":174,"text":"Rayner’s endorsement of a return for Burnham is a sign that she does not necessarily consider herself to be a candidate to replace Starmer and that she could be part of a new soft-left leadership team."}],[{"start":184.55,"text":"Burnham and Ed Miliband, energy secretary and former Labour leader, have been talking with Rayner about a new “project” to move Labour to the left, according to people briefed on the discussions."}],[{"start":196.4,"text":"Rayner said: “The Labour Party must now live up to our name: we must be the party of working people. We are in danger of becoming a party of the well-off, not working people.”"}],[{"start":207.5,"text":"Her advocacy of Burnham is a hint that Rayner may decide to back the Greater Manchester mayor as a successor to Starmer, if and when he wins a parliamentary by-election in any yet-to-be vacated seat."}],[{"start":219.65,"text":"Rayner’s allies say there would definitely be a soft-left candidate but it was “an open question” as to who that might be. Miliband is seen by some Labour MPs as a potential candidate, if a contest was triggered imminently and before Burnham returned to Westminster."}],[{"start":235.05,"text":"“The Peter Mandelson scandal showed a toxic culture of cronyism,” Rayner said. “Decisions like cutting winter fuel allowance just weren’t what people expected from a Labour government."}],[{"start":246.85000000000002,"text":"“For too long, successive governments have allowed wealth and power to concentrate at the top without a plan to ensure the benefits of economic growth are shared fairly.”"}],[{"start":256.1,"text":"Rayner insisted that the government could move to the left “within the current fiscal rules” but said that those that have benefited from the Iran crisis — thought to be a reference to energy companies — should pay more. She has previously advocated more taxes on wealth."}],[{"start":270.70000000000005,"text":"Burnham is waiting in the wings during the Starmer leadership crisis. He is currently unable to stand, having had his potential return to Westminster blocked by Starmer’s allies earlier in the year, when he was prevented from fighting the Gorton and Denton by-election."}],[{"start":285.30000000000007,"text":"“It is time to acknowledge that blocking Andy Burnham was a mistake,” Rayner said. “We must show we understand the scale of change the moment calls for — that means bringing our best players into parliament.”"}],[{"start":305.45000000000005,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778460330_3323.mp3"}