Burnham-Streeting latest: Streeting reopening Brexit wars by calling for UK return to EU ‘a bit odd,’ says Nandy

When discussing Wes Streeting’s call to rejoin EU, Kemi Badenoch said: “These people do not have a plan for the country.”

Speaking on Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, she said: “The point I’m making is that things like scrapping green taxes off our energy bills, scrapping VAT off our energy bills, you can’t do that if you’re in the EU.

“We have an advantage over other countries when it comes to jet fuel and the rules around refuelling while we’re having this fuel price drop, because we’re not in the EU. We should be using the advantages of it, not going back to the past, rehashing this argument.

“It’s not going to be as simple as walking through a door. It’s going to be years more of negotiations, years more of the country not being governed. These people do not have a plan for the country, they’re just throwing this out there.”

Manchester’s mayor is at high risk of failure in his bid to return to the Commons, says John Rentoul – a loss that would leave the Labour government seriously weakened:

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that rehashing the Brexit debate is a sign that the Labour Party “does not have a plan for this country”.

It comes after Wes Streeting made calls to rejoin the European Union as he called for a “proper contest” to replace Sir Keir Starmer and confirmed he would stand if the race is triggered.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has also been probed over his support for returning to the EU as he seeks to stand in the upcoming Makerfield by-election.

Asked for her response to the Brexit debate, Mrs Badenoch told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “The country wants us to make the best of Brexit, make the best of leaving the EU.

“The idea of starting again, going backwards, having all of these negotiations, this is a sign of the Labour Party that does not have a plan for the country, so they want to go back and refight wars, which were settled a long time ago. And I’m saying that we’re the only ones who have a plan.”

A woman leader of the Labour Party is “long overdue”, Lisa Nandy said, expressing frustration that those jostling to oust Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are all men.

But the Culture Secretary also warned Labour against turning inwards, and said the public had been “completely” cut out of the conversation over the last week amid rumours of a leadership challenge.

She also ruled out standing should there be a Labour leadership contest.

Ms Nandy, the MP for Wigan, said during an interview with Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme that she was “not here to be a spokesperson for whichever man offers an opinion on politics in the Labour Party”.

She was asked why she repeatedly decided to refer to the two “men” who currently appear to be seeking to replace Sir Keir: Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting.

Ms Nandy replied: “It’s just not lost on me that I’m being interviewed by a man, being asked to give my views about several men in the Labour Party, who I’m clearly not a spokesperson for.

“I’m sorry if I’m coming across as a bit irritated.“I think what is really winding me up, if I’m honest, is that people told us loud and clear last Thursday that things weren’t good enough, that they needed far more fundamental, far more urgent change in their lives.

“Somehow we seem to have just cut them out completely of the conversation over the last week, and Westminster has gone into introspection mode, where the debate is being led about personalities and about individuals.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that she was “really shocked” that Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice refused to condemn comments made by a council candidate that Nigerians should be melted and used to “fill in the potholes”.

The remarks were reportedly made on social media in 2024 by Glenn Gibbins, who was elected as a Reform councillor in Sunderland in the recent local elections.

Mrs Badenoch told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I think that was a disgusting comment that that Reform candidate made, and the Reform (deputy) leader… Richard Tice, wouldn’t even condemn it.

“That’s what I’m worried about. People say all sorts of stupid things, they should get slapped down when they do that.

“We cannot have a climate of violence against people based on their ethnicity in this country, but you need the leaders of the party, you need the senior ones, to be able to say that’s not what we’re about, that we’re very much against it. When they don’t say that, then we need to be worried.

“And I was really shocked when Richard Tice was interviewed that he would not condemn those comments.”

Jess Phillips said the prime minister should not fight to remain Labour leader if there is a contest.

The former minister told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg she believes there should be a leadership race, but when asked if Sir Keir Starmer should stand, she simply said: “In my opinion, no.”

Lisa Nandy has ruled out standing in any Labour leadership contest.

Asked if she would rule out standing in a future contest by the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, the culture secretary, who ran in the last Labour leadership election, said: “Yeah, I would. I said at the time that never again. I mean, I can’t say it’s an enormously enjoyable experience.”

The senior Labour figure added: “I honestly think that Keir, I mean he won that contest fair and square in 2019, he won the election. We owe it to him to pull together as a team.

“But I make no apology for saying, and he agrees, that Andy Burnham and other people from other parts of the country are really important voices of all of that.

“I think now is the time to demonstrate to the country that we can reflect the whole country, that we can be bigger, more urgent, more fundamental, bolder in the change that we offer, and that we are the answer to the problems in people’s lives.”

Speculation about a Labour leadership contest has been “froth and nonsense”, a senior Cabinet minister has said.

Lisa Nandy was asked on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips whether she believed Sir Keir Starmer will resign as prime minister by the summer holidays.

The culture secretary replied: “No, I don’t.

“I have spoken to the prime minister several times over the last week and he was very clear with the Cabinet on Tuesday that if people want to challenge him there is a process for doing that, there is a way to trigger a leadership contest, to be leader of the Labour Party and to succeed him as Prime Minister.

“Nobody has done that yet, despite the absolute feverish speculation.

“Every hour on the hour for the last week I’ve read that Wes Streeting was about to launch a challenge; that Andy Burnham was about to contest every seat in Greater Manchester, including my own; that Angela Rayner was written off, that Angela Rayner was now challenging; and most of it has turned out to be just froth and nonsense.

“We’ve got to get on with the job.”

Revisiting the Brexit debate is like saying “life was fine in 2015, we just need to go back there”, Lisa Nandy said in a rebuke of her Labour colleague Wes Streeting.

The culture secretary told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I like and respect Wes a lot, and I listened carefully to what he had to say yesterday, I think you know I have a different perspective on this, and we do as a government.”