Starmer insists he won’t quit as PM as Labour MP challenges ministers to trigger leadership contest – UK politics live | Politics
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Bridget Phillipson says Catherine West’s leadership contest call is ‘completely wrong’
Bridget PhillipsonThe Education Secretary speaks to Trevor Phillips on Sky’s Sunday episode.
When asked about Catherine West’s leadership challenge, she says:
Catherine is a wonderful colleague and I have known her for a long time. And I really have respect for Catherine.
I differ from him on this issue. I think he gets this completely wrong.
He says Labor has taken a “real hit” from voters.
But he says he doesn’t think a leadership race is the solution.
I don’t think a leadership contest and all the problems it will bring is the answer.
Starmer insists he won’t quit as Prime Minister as former minister Catherine West tries to spark Labor leadership race
Good morning. There were many predictions about the future of the Labor Party ahead of the terrible English, Scottish and Welsh elections for the party, but there is one outcome that no one could have foreseen: a leadership struggle. Catherine West.
West, the Hornsey and Friern Barnet MP who was a junior minister at the Foreign Office until he was sacked during last year’s reshuffle, announced yesterday afternoon that if a cabinet minister did not come forward to challenge Starmer for the Labor leadership by tomorrow morning, he would do so himself. He will need the support of 81 Labor MPs to launch a contest; There is no evidence that he has these numbers, and he is described (probably for reasons mysterious to anyone under 50 – more on that later) as a stalking horse.
While there are not 81 Labor MPs who want to see West as party leader, there are likely more than 81 who want Starmer to be replaced as leader before the next election. By one count, nearly 40 people have gone public saying the same thing since Thursday’s election. However, in their comments they mostly adopt the line adopted by St. Augustine on the subject of chastity; ‘God, give me a Labor leadership contest, but not yet.’
From where? Some say Starmer should be given the chance to show he can turn things around. But the majority of Labor MPs who spoke are on the party’s soft left and believe Andy Burnham would be the best replacement. They want a commitment from Starmer that he will stand down in the medium term so Burnham will first have time to be elected to parliament and be able to stand as a candidate.
The West is trying to speed up the process. This is seen as a fatal situation for Burnham and potentially beneficial for health secretary Wes Streeting and former deputy Chancellor Angela Rayner, who are likely to be the leading candidates in a current contest. West denied the allegation that he was acting on behalf of someone else. Yesterday he said there was “an abundance of talent” in the shadow cabinet who could provide leadership. As of Thursday, Rayner has yet to comment on the election defeats; Street He said he supports Starmer.
The prospect of a snap election explains why some Labor MPs on the soft left have revived talk of trying to stand up Ed Miliband. Here is our story Peter Walker And Jessica Elgot.
star player He emphasized that he would not give up without a fight. he gave Interview with the Observer He told the newspaper that he was involved in a “10-year renewal project” and that his aim was to take the party to the next general election and serve a second term.
He said:
I will not leave the job I was elected to do in July 2024. I will not drag the country into chaos.
Here is the agenda of the day.
8.30: Education minister Bridget Phillipson is interviewed by Trevor Phillips on Sky News Sunday Morning. Other guests include: Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK; Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth is set to become Wales’ next first minister; Shadow housing secretary James Cleverly; and Stephen Flynn, who resigned as SNP leader in Westminster after being elected to the Scottish parliament.
9.30: Former Labor Minister Catherine West is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC’s Sunday episode. So do Phillipson, Tice, ap Iorwerth and Cleverly.
13:00: A rally against antisemitism is being held outside Downing Street in support of the Jewish community in Britain.
I’m not sure yet if we’ll be able to open comments on the blog. If you want to point something out to me, it’s best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has stopped posting from their official account on
I find it very helpful for readers to point out errors, even minor typos. No mistake is too small to be corrected. I also find your questions very interesting. I can’t promise to respond to them all, but I will try to respond as much as I can, either on BTL or sometimes on the blog.
