Britain’s embattled prime minister is still in office. No one knows how long that will last. – POLITICO

LONDON — King Charles III will sit on a gilded throne in the U.K. parliament on Wednesday and announce a year-long legislative plan for “my government.” There’s one problem: he doesn’t know who’ll be leading it by Christmas.

His Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced an extraordinary five days since a mauling in mid-term elections: A make-or-break reset speech fell flat, more than 90 of his 403 MPs called for him to resign, four junior ministers quit and at least one Cabinet minister, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, privately urged him to set a timetable for his departure.

Yet Starmer remains ensconced in No. 10, and is not yet facing a formal leadership challenge after the most immediate threat failed to materialize. Labour ministers, MPs and officials who spoke to POLITICO attributed Starmer’s survival to two factors: Firstly, Labour is so riven with rival factions that no one can muster enough allies to make a decisive move, and secondly, no one wants to look bad in front of the king.