Labour MP Jonathan Brash has told GB News that Sir Keir Starmer should resign as Prime Minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal.
The MP for Hartlepool said during PMQs Live on GB News: “I’ve got to be clear, I am completely fed up to the back teeth of this psychodrama in Westminster, the own goals that are coming from the heart of this government.
“Meanwhile, we’ve got fantastic Labour councillors, canvassers, activists up and down the country, working hard and delivering for their constituencies, like mine in Hartlepool, facing local elections in the shadow of this absolute mess. They just need to get a grip.
“I’m completely fed up about it, and I think it’s got to the point now where I genuinely think that, as far as the Prime Minister is concerned, it’s not a case of if, it’s when.
“I just think we need to get a handle on this, because people out there are worried about their cost of living, they’re worried about their NHS, they’re worried about crime on their streets, and we’re completely consumed by this scandal, and it’s completely unacceptable.
“And I’m sure you can tell, I’m quite angry about it.
“Ultimately, we’re in a situation now where I don’t think anyone reasonably expects the Prime Minister to lead the party into the next election.
“I think that we have to refocus this government on the priorities of the British people, refocus it on delivering, which fantastic candidates and councils are doing up and down the country right now in constituencies like Hartlepool, where they’re bringing investment.”
Asked why the PM should resign, Brash said: “Why? Because ultimately, we’ve become completely consumed by this turmoil at a time when that is not what the British public are focused on.
“They are focused on their cost of living. They are focused on the NHS. It’s a reasonable thing to set a timetable to get this done in an orderly way, because we have got a very, very big job ahead of us.”
He disputed a suggestion that changing leaders would lead to a loss at the next general election: “We’ve seen from the [the] previous administration, that’s not true.
“They went the full five years, and they had, I can’t even remember how many leaders they had, but the reality is we have to focus on what the British people care about, and we’re being consumed by the psychodrama.
“I don’t speak for my colleagues. It’s up to them if they want to voice their concerns. I can only speak for myself. And look, the reality is, I’m, as I say, very frustrated, very fed up about actually all the fantastic things that this government is actually doing and actually delivering for people.
“We’ve seen NHS waiting lists falling. We’re taking money off energy bills.
“But look, I can only speak for me and say that we are seeing huge investment in my constituency, a £12 billion nuclear deal, investment in new leisure facilities, money off energy bills, free breakfast clubs. No one’s talking about that…”
Asked if removing Sir Keir might prove to be detrimental to the party’s fortunes, Brash said: “I’m very pleased to say there are no Liz Trusses in the Labour Party, so I think we’ve avoided that particular risk.
“But look, it’s our responsibility to get this right. It’s our responsibility to always be where the British public are. You’re right to say that parties do have convulsions, and they do like to make themselves feel better. Well, as MPs, our job is to firmly focus on what the British people want.
“The economy is growing. We saw growth in the economy in the last figures that were published. We just saw unemployment fall. You know, there are signs that things are getting better.
“This is such an important point, because if you look at the 14 years of Conservatives, we left office in 2010 with the lowest waiting lists and highest patient satisfaction in NHS history, when the Tories left office, the highest waiting lists and the lowest patient satisfaction in NHS history. That doesn’t get fixed overnight.
“So I’m not complacent at all. Yes, NHS, waiting lists are coming down. Yes, ambulance times are getting faster. Yes, fewer people are waiting. But the idea that you can fix it, and I have absolute sympathy with the person who’s called in, because the reality is, there are far too many people suffering the consequences of the destruction the Tories did to our NHS, and we are fixing it bit by bit. There is still far more to do.”
Asked if Keir Starmer will still be the Prime Minister next month, Brash said: “I have no idea, because it’s entirely up to the Prime Minister.
“But what I would say is that our focus has got to be on the priorities of the British people. That’s the cost of living, that’s their public services. We’ve got to fix those and that’s what we need to be talking about far more than all this.”
