INSIDE WESTMINSTER: The hunt for Labour's secret TRAITORS - and will they banish Keir Starmer?
As Labour plunges to fourth in the opinion polls, Sir Keir is increasingly expected to face a leadership challenge if May's local election results are as disastrous as expected.
As Sir Keir Starmer looks around his Cabinet table, he can lock eyes with the visible 'traitors' plotting to banish him from No 10.
But, as with the smash–hit BBC series, it is secret treachery that is most likely to lead to the Prime Minister's downfall.
As Labour plunges to fourth in the opinion polls, behind Nigel Farage's Reform, the Tories and now even the Greens, Sir Keir is increasingly expected to face a leadership challenge if May's local election results are as disastrous as expected.
Hyper–ambitious Health Secretary Wes Streeting is one of those hiding in plain sight, waiting to pounce. Mr Streeting has insisted that he is a maligned Starmer 'faithful' in the mould of rugby star Joe Marler, who was unfairly branded a 'traitor' in the celebrity run of the series: protesting one's innocence so forcefully is, of course, one of the hallmarks of a traitor.
Then there is former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is cultivating the Labour Left as she mulls whether to make a pitch for the top job – or to throw in her lot with Manchester mayor and 'King of the North' Andy Burnham as he plots his way towards a Commons seat.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is also building a growing following, both in her own right and as a potential running mate for Mr Streeting.
So those are the obvious ones. But last week, more than eight million BBC viewers saw Fiona Hughes uncloaked in the castle turret as Claudia Winkleman's Secret Traitor – the contestant who had worked alone and drawn up a shortlist for murder.
Her equivalents in Westminster can be found among the swelling ranks of the overlooked and resentful within Sir Keir's Government who are pulling strings in the hope that a new Prime Minister could lead to a revival of their careers.
'Look at someone with a grievance,' suggested one veteran Labour MP yesterday. 'Look at people whom the PM really hasn't treated very well and are not very happy about it. Someone like Jonny Reynolds.'
Hyper–ambitious Health Secretary Wes Streeting is one of those hiding in plain sight, waiting to pounce
Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is also waiting in the wings, cultivating the Labour Left as she mulls whether to make a pitch for the top job or to throw in her lot with Manchester mayor Burnham