Having survived what looked a lot like a coup attempt, Prime Minister Keir Starmer now needs to decide how to move forward. One of the biggest problems in the immediate term is what to do with his health secretary, Wes Streeting.

Streeting has long been named as a contender to replace Starmer – and has made no secret of his personal ambitions. Like every other cabinet minister, he made a statement in support of Starmer after the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar publicly called for his resignation. However, Streeting’s has been singled out for its tepid tone.

Now Starmer has a man who openly wants his job in his top team at a moment when he is trying to steady the ship. Might the PM find some inspiration about what to do from the private sector?

There is an old joke in the corporate world which states that when you take over as a new chief executive, your first task is to search the business high and low to find your natural successor – and then destroy them.

That is one (bleak) view of the rat race, or what is sometimes called “tournament theory”, the acknowledgement that within organisations there will always be a battle to get to the top. A more far-sighted approach to succession planning would look different. It would involve making sure that a range of senior people are developing their skills and experience, ready to take on the top job when it becomes........

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