IN what’s probably the best-known scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur wishes to cross a bridge guarded by the Black Knight, who refuses to let him pass. A sword fight ensues. Arthur chops off the knight’s left arm. “’Tis but a scratch,” claims the injured party. After losing his second arm, the knight insists it’s “just a flesh wound”. Once both his legs have also been hacked off, he concedes: “All right, we’ll call it a draw.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s apparent determination to soldier on as prime minister is reminiscent of the limbless Black Knight’s bravado. Last Thursday’s monumental losses for the British Labour Party in council seats across England, as well as in the Scottish and Welsh assemblies, hardly came as a surprise. Disenchanted Labourites, including many of the white knight’s former allies, have been sharpening their long knives at least since the government was rocked by the scandal around Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US.

Since May 7, the PM has come under growing pressure to either immediately resign or to outline a timetable for a relatively swift exit. Instead, Starmer seems determined to cling on, telling the Financial Times that he wants to serve two terms at........

© Dawn