Politics latest: Streeting says he could challenge Starmer next week ahead of last PMQs before crucial by-election – UK Times

Asked what preparations he was making for a potential Labour leadership contest, Sir Keir Starmer told reporters: “First and foremost, I want Andy Burnham to win, and that’s why I’ve encouraged activists and members to go up there during the course of the campaign, and they’ll be up there tomorrow helping to get the vote out.

“Then what happens is we’re immediately tipped into a Manchester mayoral contest by-election, one of the biggest by-elections that we’ve ever fought, because of the scale of it.

“And it’s really important to my mind that the whole of the Labour Party and Labour movement focuses on that, which is the next most immediate task.

“I don’t think there should be a challenge. I think history, particularly the last government, shows that that isn’t a successful way for a government to behave.

“But if there is a challenge, then I intend to fight.

“I’m not going to walk away from that, and I’ve been clear and consistent about that.”

Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds would not be drawn on whether a Labour leadership challenge would begin next week.

Asked whether he expected former health secretary Wes Streeting to launch a challenge next week, he told Sky News: “I’m not Nostradamus.”

He added: “All I would say is, if you look at this week, on Monday the Government announced a social media ban for under-16s.

“At the G7, the Prime Minister has just secured £1.3 billion of investment into the UK, creating over 1,400 jobs.

“I’m pleased to say as well, in my brief we’ve secured the date for the 2026 UK-EU summit on July 22, when again I’ll be looking to finalise deals on things like food and drink and reducing trade barriers, (and) deals on energy to be bearing down on household bills.

“So I see a Government this week that is delivering.”

Speaking on the fringes of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, the prime minister said he would talk to Mr Burnham “after the weekend” once the results from Makerfield are in, as well as saying there are no circumstances under which he would walk away from his job.

If the Greater Manchester mayor wins tomorrow’s vote, it is expected he will return to Westminster to challenge the prime minister for his job.

But amid growing threats to his grip on power, Sir Keir insisted he doesn’t feel “angry” or “bitter” over the leadership crisis he is facing.

Read the full article here from our political correspondent Millie Cooke:

Criticising the prime minister, Wes Streeting told The Cathy Newman Show on Sky News: “I don’t think he’s listening to his former defence secretary, I don’t think he’s listening to military chiefs, I don’t think he’s listening to our Nato allies.

“In terms of the Labour Party, I don’t think he’s listening to his cabinet, I don’t think he’s listening to the parliamentary party and I don’t think he’s listening to voters, who only in May sent the Labour Party that extremely humbling message at the ballot box.”

Speaking to reporters earlier at a press conference in central London where he outlined his economic vision, the senior Labour figure said: “There is a huge amount of talent on the front bench and the back bench of the parliamentary Labour Party.

“It isn’t used nearly well enough, and the divides between Labour’s different tribes are often overstated.

“I think we all have a shared sense of what’s wrong. I think we have different views about how to put it right, but at the end of it, we need to come together.”

Mr Streeting’s diagnosis is that Labour is suffering from three problems at the moment: with leadership, with policy, and with culture.

Wes Streeting indicated he is prepared to trigger a Labour leadership contest as early as next week as he urged Sir Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure if Andy Burnham wins this week’s Makerfield by-election.

The former health secretary insisted he has the backing of the 80 MPs required to stand in a contest as he accused Sir Keir of not listening to the party or his cabinet in a series of public appearances on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said he would prove his rivals wrong and “carry on with what I was elected to do” and “bring back the change that people desperately need” as he fights for his political future.

Mr Streeting said he wanted Sir Keir to reflect over the weekend and make a decision to leave “on his own terms” after the vote on Thursday which could see Mr Burnham return to Westminster to challenge the prime minister.

But pressed on whether he would trigger a contest if Sir Keir stayed put, as the prime minister has made clear he wants to, the ex-cabinet minister told BBC Newsnight: “We can’t carry on with this uncertainty and paralysis, and there will need to be a contest, and I’d be prepared to do that.”

On how soon he would be willing to mount a challenge, Mr Streeting said he did not want to “get into, ‘is it Monday, is it Tuesday’”, but that Sir Keir should be given “space over the weekend” to consider his position.

Asked if he would challenge Sir Keir if the Greater Manchester mayor does not win the Makerfield by-election, he told LBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Yes, I believe we need a change of leadership and if Andy Burnham isn’t back, I still believe we need that change of leadership.”