Nandy calls speculation on leadership challenge ‘froth and nonsense’<\/p>\n
The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said the prime minister Keir Starmer<\/a> will not have resigned by the school summer holidays, despite a major challenge to his leadership after the local election results.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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,\u201d Nandy said. \u201cNobody has done that yet, despite the absolute feverish speculation.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of it has turned out to be just froth and nonsense. We have got to get on with the job.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said that rehashing the Brexit debate is a sign that the Labour Party \u201cdoes not have a plan for this country\u201d.<\/p>\n It comes after Wes Streeting<\/a> made calls to rejoin the European Union as he called for a \u201cproper contest\u201d to replace Sir Keir Starmer and confirmed he would stand if the race is triggered.<\/p>\n Asked for her response to the Brexit debate, Badenoch told Sky News\u2019s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: \u201cThe country wants us to make the best of Brexit, make the best of leaving the EU.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u2019m saying that we\u2019re the only ones who have a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Josh Simons MP denied reports he decided to give his seat up for Andy Burnham<\/a> a year ago.<\/p>\n He told the BBC: \u201cThat\u2019s not quite what the report says. It says I had a pint with Andy Burnham and we talked about politics, which is absolutely true.\u201d<\/p>\n Simons said he made the decision \u201ctwo days ago\u201d, after discussing it with his wife.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cFor me, it wasn\u2019t about\u2026 people always ask (about) cutting deals, are you going to run for mayor, are you going to be in the Lords? No, no, no.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was about, \u2018what does Andy think that he\u2019s going to do to the Labour party and to the country if he wins this by-election?\u2019, and that\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.49 EDT<\/p>\n Starmer lacked ‘willingness’ to argue with tech companies over child abuse, Phillips says<\/p>\n Jess Phillips has claimed Keir Starmer<\/a> lacked the \u201cwillingness\u201d to argue with tech companies over tackling child sexual abuse.<\/p>\n Asked by Laura Kuenssberg how she would describe the prime minister\u2019s approach to protecting children online, Jess Phillips said: \u201cTimid, is the best way that I can describe.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I am talking is stopping 91% of child sexual abuse online\u201d, the former junior minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe technology literally exists to be able to stop that child abuse from happening and my experience of trying to push that through has been the most frustrating and the level of timidity, the level of \u2018we won\u2019t say that we\u2019ll legislate, we\u2019ll say we\u2019ll work with the tech companies\u2019,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think for one second that the prime minister doesn\u2019t want to stop that child abuse, of course he does, but the willingness to have an argument, in this case with tech companies, just wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.28 EDT<\/p>\n Labour MP who stood aside for Burnham claims ‘people broadly agree’ with move<\/p>\n An MP who stood down so that Andy Burnham<\/a>, the mayor of Greater Manchester, could run in his seat, claims his constituents \u201cbroadly agree\u201d with his decision.<\/p>\n Josh Simons, MP for Makerfield, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis was not an easy thing to do and I wouldn\u2019t have done it unless I really, really believed at the end of the day that this was in the best interests of the Labour party, my community and most importantly country.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me tell you, from having been on the ground in my constituency in the last two days, people broadly agree. There are some who think, \u2018that\u2019s a bit of a risk, what if you lose?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cBut actually most people say this is a chance for us to be at the heart of history, to change the Labour party for good and to send someone down to Westminster whose got a big agenda for changing Westminster and Whitehall and they are happy with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.22 EDT<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch has said her \u201cfeistiness\u201d is what has won her the admiration of US celebrities Nicki Minaj and Azealia Banks.<\/p>\n Trevor Phillips asked her why rappers Minaj and Banks, who had both shared clips of Badenoch\u2019s speeches in the Commons, were drawn to her.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they just like feistiness\u201d, Badenoch said. \u201cI think they are online a lot and they have seen these videos. I am just amazed people in the US are watching our PMQs.\u201d<\/p>\n Badenoch said: \u201cI doubt I will be on [Minaj\u2019s] next track but I still do like starships and I still do like 2-1-2 which is Azealia\u2019s song so they can probably hear the R&B and hiphop fan in me.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Badenoch ‘really shocked’ Reform did not condemn racist comment about Nigerians<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch has said she was \u201creally shocked\u201d the Reform leadership did not condemn a racist comment about Nigerians by one of their councillor candidates.<\/p>\n Trevor Phillips asked the conservative leader about Glenn Gibbins\u2019 comment, which said Nigerians should be melted down to \u201cfill in potholes\u201d.<\/p>\n Badenoch said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI think that was a disgusting comment that Reform candidate made. The Reform leadership, Richard Tice wouldn\u2019t even condemn it. That\u2019s what I\u2019m worried about.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople 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 \u2018that\u2019s not what we\u2019re about, we\u2019re very much against it\u2019. When they don\u2019t say that, then we need to be worried.<\/p>\n \u201cI was really shocked when Richard Tice was interviewed that he would not condemn those comments.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.04 EDT<\/p>\n The Conservative leader called accusations her party could not win a general election \u201cvery silly\u201d.<\/p>\n Trevor Phillips, questioning Kemi Badenoch on Sky, suggested she was \u201creluctant to accept what the voters have said\u201d in the local election results.<\/p>\n Badenoch said: \u201cThe voters voted for Labour in 2024 and they had a historic landslide, look where they are now.<\/p>\n \u201cStop pretending local elections are the same as a general election\u201d, she continued. \u201cYou know what you\u2019re doing, I\u2019m not playing the game, it\u2019s very silly.\u201d<\/p>\n Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch before appearing on the BBC1 current affairs programme, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Photograph: Jeff Overs\/BBC\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.02 EDT<\/p>\n Badenoch denies Conservatives lost 700 seats at local elections<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch has denied the conservatives lost 700 seats at the local elections, claiming her party has \u201cgone forward\u201d since last year.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not doing any deals with Nigel Farage\u201d, Badenoch the Conservative leader said. \u201cSome voters [chose him on May 7], but the places that voted last year, like Hertfordshire, we are winning back those seats from Reform, because when people get Reform they don\u2019t like it. No deals. If people want Conservative policies they need to vote conservative.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to Phillips putting to her the Conservatives lost almost 700 seats at the local election, Badenoch said: \u201cThat\u2019s not true, I am not here to say we didn\u2019t lose seats, but these are seats we won at the height of Conservatism, when Boris Johnson was there, we have gone forward since last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.57 EDT<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch denied Trevor Phillips\u2019 suggestion the conservatives made a \u201ccomplete hash\u201d of Brexit, as some Labour figures suggested rejoining the European Union.<\/p>\n The Conservative leader said: \u201cScrapping green taxes off our energy bills, scrapping VAT off our energy bills, you can\u2019t do that if you\u2019re in the EU.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be using the advantages of it rather than moving back to the past and re-hashing this argument.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.00 EDT<\/p>\n Badenoch says Tommy Robinson ‘free to say’ supporters should join Tories<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch has said Tommy Robinson is \u201cfree to say\u201d his supporters should join Tories<\/p>\n The leader of the Conservative party was asked by Trevor Phillips on Sky News about whether she was \u201cglad\u201d the former English Defence League leader had urged his followers to join a political party, listing the Conservatives as one option.<\/p>\n Badenoch said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI am not a supporter of Tommy Robinson, I don\u2019t endorse his views, but he is free to speak his mind.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not somebody who I am a supporter of or who I endorse, he has had to go to prison for contempt of court, there is a lot that he says I disagree with. He is free to say that.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I want people to know is that the Conservative party is a new party under a new leader, we have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.32 EDT<\/p>\n Voters who abandoned Labour will return to support Burnham, says culture secretary<\/p>\n The culture secretary said voters who abandoned Labour have said they will return to the party to support mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham<\/a> in the Makerfield by-election.<\/p>\n Lisa Nandy told Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC: \u201cI have to say knocking on doors yesterday, people \u2013 because of Andy\u2019s record as mayor \u2013 who didn\u2019t vote for us last week were saying they would vote for us again.<\/p>\n \u201cHe won every single ward in Makerfield every time he stood to be mayor, even when Labour hasn\u2019t and that\u2019s why I make no apology for saying he is a really important voice that needs to be heard loud and clear in the centre of Westminster.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.22 EDT<\/p>\n Female Labour leader ‘long overdue’, Nandy says<\/p>\n Trevor Phillips asked Lisa Nandy why the Labour party had \u201cthree white blokes\u201d who would face Kemi Badenoch across the dispatch box, suggesting it raises a question about the Labour party pointing a finger at others being institutionally sexist and racist.<\/p>\n The culture secretary pointed out she \u201cdid try to fix that\u201d when she put her name forward for the leadership of the party in 2019.<\/p>\n But she added:<\/p>\n double quotation markI agree with you, I think a woman leader is long overdue. We are talking as if we are in a leadership contest here, but on the way here \u2013 I have just come over from Wigan to Salford \u2013 I have had two people already say to me \u2018can you just get on with the job\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people want to trigger a leadership contest they can, but I think the idea the rest of the country is obsessing about who is the leader of the Labour party is just for the birds.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.22 EDT<\/p>\n Lisa Nandy told Trevor Phillips the leadership crisis in the Labour party was \u201creally winding\u201d her up, during her morning interview on Sky News.<\/p>\n \u201cI am sorry if I am coming across as a bit irritated, I think what is really winding me up if I\u2019m honest is that people told us loud and clear last Thursday that things weren\u2019t good enough, that they needed far more fundamental far more urgent change in their lives.<\/p>\n \u201cSomehow we seem to have just completely cut them out of the conversation in the last week and Westminster has gone into introspection mode where the debate is being led about personalities and about individuals,<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I think the public really need to hear from us right now is that we\u2019ve got a plan to turn things around.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Culture secretary brands Streeting’s call to rejoin the EU ‘a bit odd’<\/p>\n Asked about former health secretary Wes Streeting\u2019s call for the UK to re-join the European Union, the culture secretary called the stance \u201ca bit odd\u201d<\/p>\n Lisa Nandy said the government was \u201ctrying to take a far more pragmatic approach\u201d of forming a closer relationship with the EU, \u201crather than re-opening the Brexit wars\u201d.<\/p>\n Commenting on her former cabinet colleague\u2019s position, Nandy said: \u201cI just think it\u2019s a bit odd if I\u2019m honest. Essentially, If re-joining the EU is the answer to what we were just told loud and clear by the country and parts of the country like mine where we lost 25 out of 25 wards, then essentially what we are saying to people is life was fine in 2015, we just need to go back there.\u201d<\/p>\n Nandy said Streeting will \u201chear loud and clear from people\u201d while campaigning that the public in Leave voting areas did not agree with his stance.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.09 EDT<\/p>\n Asked by Trevor Phillips on Sky News why she had not told Andy Burnham to \u201cstay in Manchester\u201d, Lisa Nandy said she wanted the Greater Manchester Mayor \u2013 whose decision to stand as an MP<\/a> has led to a by-election in Makerfield \u2013 to return to Westminster.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you say, \u2018stay in Manchester\u2019, we can hear you up north. Our voices matter in national politics. Andy brings a perspective from this part of the country that has not been heard loud and clear enough in Westminster for decades,\u201d the culture secretary said.<\/p>\n double quotation markThe sort of fights we have been prepared to have in recent years, the fight for renters, the fight for workers, the fight for football fans \u2013 people need to see more of that from us. I think Andy can come and bring that perspective and that fight and that energy to this team.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.58 EDT<\/p>\n Nandy calls speculation on leadership challenge ‘froth and nonsense’<\/p>\n The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said the prime minister Keir Starmer<\/a> will not have resigned by the school summer holidays, despite a major challenge to his leadership after the local election results.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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,\u201d Nandy said. \u201cNobody has done that yet, despite the absolute feverish speculation.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of it has turned out to be just froth and nonsense. We have got to get on with the job.\u201d<\/p>\n