Wes Streeting accused of restarting ‘Brexit wars’ in Labour leadership row

A cabinet minister and ally of Andy Burnham has accused Wes Streeting of restarting the “Brexit wars” by calling for Britain to rejoin the European Union; because the issue threatened to jeopardize the unofficial Labor leadership race.

Lisa Nandy condemned his proposal as “bizarre”; Reform was expected to consider the offer at the upcoming by-election in Makerfield, which voted Leave in 2016.

As the row erupted publicly, another Burnham ally warned that Labor would face an “existential” crisis if the Greater Manchester mayor failed in his bid to return to Westminster; which would end his hopes of formally challenging Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership.

Ms Nandy, who campaigned with Mr Burnham in Makerfield on Saturday, said Mr Streeting’s call to rejoin the EU was like saying “life was good in 2015, we need to get back there”.

And the culture secretary accused him of “restarting the Brexit wars and going back down that road again”.

In his opening speech to replace the Prime Minister – although no formal race has been announced – Mr Streeting called on Labor to accept that Brexit was a “catastrophic mistake”.

“We need a new and special relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future is in Europe and one day it will return to the European Union.” he added.

That put immediate pressure on Mr Burnham, who told last year’s Labor Party conference that he wanted Britain to rejoin the bloc, saying: “I hope it happens in my lifetime… That’s my belief and I’ll say it openly.”

However, reports suggest he will soften his stance as he tries to win the Makerfield by-election. Asked by ITV News whether he was still in favor of rejoining the EU, he said: “I’ve said there’s a case for it in the long term, but I’m not advocating it in this by-election.”

Mr Burnham’s allies insist he is Labour’s best hope of beating Reformation in Makerfield and at the general election.

Josh Simon, who gave up his Makerfield seat to allow Mr Burnham to survive, said victory would mean the end for Sir Keir but defeat would create an “existential” crisis for the party.

Meanwhile, Ms Nandy said it was a “personal decision” for Sir Keir over whether he should defend his position in a leadership contest; It’s another sign that support for the prime minister within his own cabinet is softening. He said it was up to Sir Keir whether he wanted to take the “next challenge” forward.

Former minister Jess Phillips, one of a number of former ministers to resign this week calling for the Prime Minister to leave, said Sir Keir should not be fighting to remain Labor leader if there was competition.

Mr Farage took advantage of the debate within the Labor Party to attack Mr Burnham, describing him as “Burnham’s outliers” and saying he “must be stopped”.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also accused Labor of reopening the Brexit debate because it had “no plan for this country”.

Mr Farage is also expected to attack Mr Burnham over his background in fighting gangs.

As mayor, he organized investigations that uncovered evidence of institutional failures. But police informer Maggie Oliver, who left her job over Greater Manchester Police’s response to gangs, told Times Radio she had failed at the final hurdle and allowed a “cover-up”.

He allowed HM Constabulary police to chair the latest review, which he said led to the resignation of the independent reviewers. “Andy Burnham failed to grasp the issue with the last part of this review,” he said. “Unfortunately it’s back and we’ve missed a great opportunity to bring about really needed changes,” he added.

Ms Nandy, the Wigan MP who represented the party leadership in 2020, said in an interview on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that she thought “a female leader is long overdue” in Labor.

“I think what really shakes me up, if I’m honest, is that people are telling us loudly and clearly that things aren’t good enough, that they need a much more fundamental, much more urgent change in their lives. Somehow last week we seem to have left them out of the conversation entirely and Westminster has moved into introspection mode, where the debate is directed about personalities and individuals.”

Sher added: “If people want to trigger a leadership race they can, but honestly I think the idea of ​​the rest of the country being obsessed with who the leader of the Labor Party is is just for the birds.”