Starmer has a winning hand to seize prize

After teetering on the brink for months, Boris Johnson’s house of cards came crashing down last week.

Beneath the rubble, the joker in the pack remains squatting in Downing Street as Tory colleagues vie for his job.

And the terrible truth is that despite Brexit, Partygate and hundreds of billions squandered on Covid contracts – we could easily end up with an even worse prime minister.

Already a motley crew of bankers, spivs and right-wing ideologues are squaring up to fight for the key to Number 10.

One of the few sensible Conservative ministers – former MSP Ben Wallace – has ruled himself out.

The f ront- runner is now former Chancellor Rishi Sunak – the ex- banker with a billionaire wife.

Akshata Murty’s non- dom status has helped her save millions in UK tax, and the Sunday Mail has revealed how her family f irm is cashing in on Rolls- Royce jobs outsourced to India.

This, while millions of ordinary families struggle to put food on the table and heat their homes.

Labour leader Keir Starmer must now step up to the plate and deliver for both Scotland and the UK.

There will never be a better opportunity for him to force a general election and become the first Labour prime minister in 12 years.

Failure to do so will consign us to three more years of a government which has been ripping up standards in public life to such an extent that it will be difficult to return to any semblance of integrity.

Starmer has said he can help families through the cost-of-living crisis, rebuild the NHS and unite the UK.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants the next election to be a de facto referendum with a majority of the popular vote representing a mandate for independence.

That vote could now come sooner than she expected.

It means a Labour victory could deliver a hammer blow not just to the Tories but the SNP’s dream too.

The house of cards is falling and it’s time for Starmer to play his ace.