Keir Starmer issued grim leadership warning by Labour MPs – writing’s on the wall | Politics | News

Labor MPs believe Sir Keir Starmer should not enter the leadership race with Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting. Former minister Jess Phillips said Sir Keir should not try to hold on to Downing Street.

Josh Simons, who resigned to allow Mr Burnham to come to power, also said Labor MPs should unite behind the Greater Manchester Mayor if he wins the Makerfield by-election. Ms Phillips told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that she believed there should be a leadership contest, but when asked whether Sir Keir Starmer should run, she simply said: “I think not.” Mr Simons said the party needed to “come together” to support Mr Burnham.

“If Andy wins the by-election, my view is that the different parts of the party need to come together behind Andy,” he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

Asked if this would mean “the end of Keir Starmer”, Mr Simons said: “So yes.”

Mr Simons denied reports that he had decided to give up his seat to Mr Burnham a year ago.

He told the BBC: “That’s not exactly what the report says. It says Andy Burnham and I were having a beer and talking about politics, which is absolutely true.”

Mr Simons said he made his decision “two days ago” after consulting with his wife.

He said: “It happened incredibly fast for me.

“It wasn’t just me, it was my wife. We did this as a family because it’s about sacrifices made in the name of family.

“It’s a question of ‘What does Andy think he’ll do to Labor and the country if he wins this by-election?’ It was about and that’s what matters.”

Kemi Badenoch warned Mr Burnham would plunge the country into economic chaos by taking on more debt, which would lead to higher mortgages for families.

The Conservative leader said the Mayor of Manchester was popular only because he “didn’t have to do anything”.

Answering questions about whether Mr Burnham would be a “real threat” if he became Labor leader, Ms Badenoch told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “He’s just popular because he hasn’t had to do anything.

“Politics is about making tough decisions. Once he comes around and realizes there’s no money to throw around, he’ll lose his popularity.”

“Andy Burnham is talking about increasing borrowing. That will affect everyone’s mortgages, which will affect the borrowing costs of this country.

“Billions of dollars will be added to debt interest; you’ll be paying Burnham premiums. I don’t think that will make him popular at all.”

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, who wants to replace Sir Keir as Prime Minister, said he wanted public control over the “basics of life”, including energy and water providers, as well as an increase in town hall construction.

Ms Badenoch added: “It’s not just Kier Starmer, Andy Burnham or Wes Streeting. They’re all as bad as each other. I can deal with any of them. It doesn’t matter if it’s Angela Rayner or Ed Miliband.”

“They have no plan for the country.

“They think winning an election is the same as running a country and that’s why I know that in the next three years we’ll have a Labor Government, they won’t call an election because turkeys don’t vote for Christmas but they will make things worse. That’s why I have an alternative agenda.”

Asked about Mr Burnham and Mr Streeting’s plans to reverse Brexit, Ms Badenoch said: “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.

“The country wants us to make the most of Brexit. Make the best of leaving the EU. The idea of ​​starting over, going backwards, doing all these negotiations, that’s a sign that Labor has no plan for the country.”

“So they want to go back and re-fight wars that were decided long ago. And I say, we’re the only ones who have the best plan to get the best out of people.”

Mr Streeting and Mr Burnham sparked anger by vowing to reverse Brexit.

In his speech on Saturday, Mr Streeting called on Britain to rejoin the European Union, saying: “Britain’s future lies in Europe.”

Mr Burnham also expressed interest in rejoining.

In an interview with the Mirror, the Mayor of Manchester also outlined his policy ambitions.

He said: “Firstly, re-industrialisation of all parts of this constituency with education reform to bring technical education on par with the academic university route.

“Second, stronger public control over the basic needs of life. Energy, housing, water, transport. Making life affordable again. Gaining stronger control over public spending; if you’re chasing private rents through the welfare system, you’ve got a problem.”

Mr Burnham also called for a post-war-style town hall, saying: “There is no stability for Britain until we end the housing crisis.”