Chris Mason: The anatomy of the prime minister's downfall

Chris Mason: The anatomy of the prime minister's downfallImage source, EPAImage caption, Sir Keir Starmer announcing his resignationByChris MasonPolitical editorPublished2 minutes agoFor month after month, week after week, sometimes day after day, we have chronicled the unravelling of Sir Keir Starmer's government.Nonetheless, it still prompted a sharp intake of breath on Monday morning to be standing in Downing Street yet again, awaiting another prime minister publicly reading the last rites on their time in the highest office.This wasn't a leader brought down by scandal, as Boris Johnson was, nor economic calamity, as Liz Truss was.But there were parallels with the downfall of both Johnson and Truss: Sir Keir, like both of them, had lost the capacity to viably govern. When that happens to a prime minister, they are done for.All three lost the capacity to govern because their own MPs lost faith in them.And all three stood at the lectern in Downing Street within four years of each other. Extraordinary.Theories abound about why our last five prime ministers have not lasted very long. To what extent is a stagnant economic picture, dating back to the financial crisis of nearly 20 years ago to blame? What about the incessant noise of social media?The contributors to the outlook of so many Labour MPs about Sir Keir were multiple, building slowly and then exploding quickly.Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, Labour won a majority of more than 170 seats in July 2024 with Sir Keir as leader.The cancellation of the winter fuel payment for many pensioners, announced shortly after Labour's general election win two years ago and eventually reversed, was one of many U-turns.Then there was the row over freebies, dubbed by some "passes for glasses". And within weeks of Labour taking office, dysfunction at the heart of Downing Street became public when we revealed a briefing war seeking to ensure the removal of Sir Keir's first chief...