Sir Keir Starmer has been warned Labour’s deputy leadership contest is a make or break moment for the government, with the party facing “the fight of its life” amid the rise of Reform.
With Nigel Farage comfortably leading in the polls, Dame Emily Thornberry and Andy Burnham said the PM must listen more to his backbenchers to stop Reform UK from winning the next general election.
Dame Emily said she was considering running for the deputy leadership after Angela Rayner was forced to resign over her failure to pay £40,000 in stamp duty on the purchase of a flat in Hove.
And she said Labour faces “the fight of our lives” at the next election against Mr Farage. “The last thing we want is to go from a position where we thought we would be in for two terms, to hand our country over to Farage,” she told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
She said Sir Keir has restored Britain’s status on the world stage and praised domestic reforms including the strengthening of workers’ rights. “But nobody seems to be hearing about that,” she warned. “They hear about the mistakes, and the question is, why are we making these mistakes?” she added.
Asked why, she said: “I think it’s not listening to people of goodwill who want the party to succeed. I think we need to do more of that, because I think that the answers are out there, but I think that we need to continue to listen and learn from the public.”
Meanwhile Mr Burnham, one of Labour’s most powerful figures outside of Westminster, said that Labour MPs must be respected more going forward. “That is the debate we should have during the deputy leadership contest,” he said. “I would say more broadly that it also needs to be a bit of a reset for the government,” he added.
Mr Burnham said he was “concerned about the balance” of Sir Keir’s cabinet following the weekend’s emergency reshuffle, and that “we need to use the contest to discuss some of those things”.
He said: “It is right to have a discussion about the internal management of the Labour Party. And in a time where the scale and the nature of the challenge we face is such as it is, you need everybody pulling together, all parts of the party pulling together.
“And that points to a party management style that is less factional and more pluralistic. Labour MPs need to listen to them more and respect them more.”
The Greater Manchester Mayor said he would like to an MP from the north become deputy Labour leader. He suggested Louise Haigh or Lucy Powell – both former cabinet ministers who now sit on the back benches – as possible candidates.
John Healey said David Lammy’s appointment as deputy prime minister does not mean he is Downing Street’s preferred candidate in the deputy leadership contest.
Asked whether the former foreign secretary’s new role suggested he was Sir Keir Starmer’s favourite for deputy leader, the Defence Secretary told Sky News: “No it doesn’t.
“They’re two separate jobs, two very important jobs. The deputy leader of the Labour Party is an important job and an important vote for Labour Party members.”
It came amid reports Sir Keir is set to encourage his new home secretary Shabana Mahmood to stand in the contest in a bid to see off any potential left-wing challengers. But left-wing MPs are likely to rally around a candidate in the race, which is being seen as a referendum on the PM’s leadership.
Left-wing MP Richard Burgon has said the contest must not be “a stitch-up”, demanding that “members must not be sidelined”.
