Ousting Starmer won't 'magically improve' country as PM 'gets it', says Education Secretary
Bridget Phillipson brushed off the likelihood of a leadership contest, telling LBC's Lewis Goodall she was confident the Sir Keir would lead Labour into the next election
Bridget Phillipson speaking to Lewis Goodall.
Picture:
LBC
Removing Sir Keir Starmer won't "magically improve" the country, the Education Secretary has told LBC in a show of support for the embattled Prime Minister. Speaking to Lewis Goodall on Sunday, Bridget Phillipson described the scale of Labour's defeat in the local elections as "stark" but insisted the PM "gets it", adding: "We know that we have to be better than we are."She said she believed Sir Keir would lead Labour into the next election and to stay in post for another eight years."I'm confident that Keir Starmer will take us into the next general Election," she told Lewis.Asked if she wanted Sir Keir to stay in power for another eight years, she said: "Yes. I think Keir Starmer is someone that has shown level headed leadership and determination at a really difficult time for our country with all of the challenges both at home and abroad."A defiant Sir Keir is fighting to save his premiership amid mounting pressure from Labour MPs calling for his resignation following a disastrous set of local election results.On Saturday, Labour MP Catherine West became the first to explicitly threaten a leadership bid, telling cabinet members they have until Monday to challenge for the Labour leadership before she launches her own attempt.Read more: LIVE: Labour loses more than 1,400 seats in disastrous election results - as Starmer threatened with leadership challengeRead more: Trump congratulates 'good man' Swinney on Scotland election win
More than 30 backbench MPs have rounded on the PM calling for his resignation, after Labour lost control of more than 30 councils across England and around 1,500 councillors in the local elections. Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, said Labour faced an "existential crisis" and called on the party to elect a new leader before the end of the year, while veteran MP Clive Betts said the Cabinet should make it clear to Sir Keir Starmer he has to go “in the not too distant future”.Labour MP Catherine McKinnell stopped short of explicitly calling on Sir Keir to resign, but said the party must "urgently change", as she said the public voted on "national issues".Brushing off the threat posed by Ms West, the Education Secretary told Lewis: "I don't think she will (get the numbers), but, you know, only Catherine can tell you what conversation she's been having. Regardless of that, I don't think it is the right approach."
The Education Secretary described the scale of the defat as "stark", and admitted: "We took an absolute kicking."She went on: "I've knocked on doors right across the country, including in my own community, and the message that I've taken loud and clear from voters is that they don't feel that's materialised in the way that they hoped it would. That's the reality of it."However she warned Reform - which made huge gains at the expense of Labour and the Tories - wanted to "pull apart our country"."My council in Sunderland is now a Reform council and one new councillor, for example, said that Nigerians should be melted down to fill in potholes. Absolutely disgusting...that's what we're up against."Sir Keir has taken responsibility for the devastating losses but has vowed not to “walk away and plunge the country into chaos” despite the growing pressure and is insisting he will lead Labour into the next election.
MP Catherine West.
Picture:
Getty
On Saturday Keir Starmer gave the outlines of a plan to reset his Government, which starts with a speech on Monday and the King’s Speech on Wednesday, would include a “full throated” pitch to be closer to Europe.His first move has been the appointment of two Labour veterans Gordon Brown and Dame Harriet Harman as advisors to Number 10.Gordon Brown, Prime Minister from 2007-2010, has been brought back into Downing Street to serve as the PM's Special Envoy on Global Finance. Dame Harriet Harman will advise the Government on Women and Girls.Asked about his decision to bring back “blasts from the past”, Sir Keir said: "It’s very future-looking, because this is about making sure that every woman has the opportunities that she deserves. And so Harriet will lead on that work, working with the Cabinet, working with the team.
Keir Starmer has brought back Gordon Brown in a bid to restore his premiership.
Picture:
Alamy
“For Gordon obviously, one of the big challenges we face is global finance. The war in Iran is causing real problems, economic impact."Writing in The Times today, former minister Josh Simons calls on Sir Keir to stand down because he has "lost the country" and warned the party is "marching towards extinction", calling on the PM to set out a timetable for his resignation. Ms Phillipson said: "I like Josh, he is a great MP and I have a lot of respect for him, but I part company with him on this. I think actually some of the change that we are, we've just legislated for and that is coming into effect is big and transformational."She added: "I don't think the message that we should take from these elections is what we need now, that what we need now is a leadership contest. I don't think that's the answer. I don't think this would all magically improve."Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and Chancellor Rachel Reeves similarly rallied around the Labour leader, stating his “mandate” must be delivered, while Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said reversing Labour’s fortunes would require “a collective effort, not just blaming the boss”.Environment secretary Emma Reynolds told LBC the Government "needed to reflect" on the election results but insisted it was "not the right time" for the Prime Minister to resign.The Conservatives had "tested to destruction the idea that you chop and change your leader every five minutes," Ms Reynolds told Matthew Wright.Asked about the PM's unpopularity on the doorstep, she insisted that "no leader is universally popular. I also met people on the doorstep who don't like Nigel Farage, but obviously they've had some good results."But it is right that the Prime Minister, who was elected on a mandate of change, a five year parliament, delivers that change, but steps up and delivers that more quickly."
