As the siege of Sir Keir Starmer has proceeded, the failures of Labour’s Scottish leadership have escaped scrutiny. When do the members start to become angry about being reduced to 17 seats?

After Tuesday’s cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street, a procession of loyalists dutifully sallied forth to shore up Sir Keir Starmer’s crumbling authority. Among them was Jim Murphy, the former Scottish Labour leader. Mr Murphy now runs a political lobbying firm which scavenges for business within the orbit of Sir Keir’s premiership. Since Sir Keir became party leader, Mr Murphy’s firm has become a multi-million-pound enterprise operating for a global clientele.

The former MP delivered an eloquent and assured defence of Sir Keir and warned of the consequences of removing the Prime Minister. “There are two dangers here,” said Mr Murphy, “it leads to a period of political instability that means there’s a loss of investor confidence. We’ll see what the bond markets do today and in the next couple of days.”

None of these cheerleaders said anything about how Labour becoming disconnected from working-class communities. The ‘class’ word is now treated in Labour circles with the same horror that the House Un-American Activities Committee viewed ‘Socialism’ during the McCarthy witch-hunts.

Swinney’s move to lock out Reform is cheap and pathetic gesture politics

Well Anas, you learned that Labour does not speak for Scotland's most impoverished

'I’ve been touring these constituencies for 10 years — why don’t they vote?'

As Mr Murphy was fretting about the bond markets, I recalled my interview earlier this year with Brian Leishman, Labour MP for Alloa & Grangemouth. Mr Leishman is routinely described as ‘left-wing’, a term that’s deployed subtly to invalidate anything he might say. All Labour MPs should be........

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