Lammy accuses Starmer opponents of ‘lighting match and standing in the petrol’ of Labour’s destruction

Labor supporters of Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham were accused of destroying the party by “lighting matches and standing in petrol” by deputy prime minister David Lammy.

The provocative comments from Mr Lammy, a close ally of Sir Keir Starmer, came as the prime minister said he would struggle to survive if the Labor leadership race was triggered.

Mr Lammy said if such a conflict occurred within the next 10 weeks the party would be sacked, paving the way for Nigel Farage to come to power.

He dismissed Mr Streeting’s call for Britain to rejoin the EU as a “sixth form argument” and said Labor’s job was to deliver on its election promises.

Mr Lammy claimed Sir Keir would survive Mr Streeting’s resignation, just as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair survived the resignations of Cabinet critics Michael Heseltine and Robin Cook after similar disagreements.

Commenting on Labour’s infighting over moves to replace Starmer, Mr Lammy said: “Introspection or internecine warfare? Effectively some of our colleagues are lighting the match and standing in the gas.”

“This will not be in the best interest of the British people. This will be the beginning of Farage.”

He described the turmoil in Labor in the 10 days following Mr Streeting’s resignation as health minister as “an extraordinary own goal”.

Asked about Mr Streeting’s comments on reversing Brexit, he said: “Wes Streeting is free to say what he wants. I won’t speculate about the next Labor manifesto.”

“This is not a sixth form debate, it is about delivery on behalf of the British people.”

Mr Lammy said unless the uncertainty over the prime minister’s position ended, Labor would be “in big trouble, we’ll leave office and what Farage will lead”.

He told the BBC he was “very upset when Wes Streeting decided to leave the government”.

But he added: “But just as Michael Heseltine left the Thatcher government, just as Robin Cook left the Blair government, just as James Purnell left the Brown government, people resign when they cannot sign up to collective bargaining. [cabinet] responsibility.”

Sir Keir was “the toughest person I have ever known” and Mr Lammy called on Labor MPs to show more “discipline” and be “loyal” to him.

Supporters of the Mayor of Greater Manchester have also called for the prime minister to resign ahead of a possible challenge from Mr Burnham in the coming weeks.

Labor MP and former Starmer ally Josh Simons announced last week that he would resign as MP for Makerfield to give Mr Burnham the chance to return to Parliament.

If he prevails, Greater Manchester’s current mayor could launch a formal challenge against the prime minister and pave the way for No 10.

Mr Lammy said he would “100 per cent” join his Labor colleagues in campaigning for Mr Burnham and told the BBC it would be “great to have him back in parliament”.

He also appeared to suggest that Sir Keir planned to campaign on behalf of his leadership rival.

Asked if the Prime Minister would go to Makerfield to show support for Mr Burnham, Mr Lammy told the BBC: “All of us in the cabinet will be campaigning to ensure Labor wins at Makerfield.”

Asked whether Sir Keir could campaign on behalf of Mr Burnham, he said again: “Look, we’ve got to get back to being a united team, we’ve had ten days of introspection. Let’s put that to rest now. Let’s unite to fight this by-election and deliver on behalf of the British people.”