Protests and Conservative party strategy

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On Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips asked Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy if Keir Starmer would be gone by summer. Do you expect uh Keir Starmer to have left number 10 down in Downing Street in time for the summer school holidays? No, I don't. Um I've spoken to the Prime Minister several times over the last week and uh 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 West 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. We promised people that we would bring change to their lives and we've got to take that fight out to the country and show that we can do it. Well, froth and nonsense. Um, the health secretary has resigned. Uh Mr. Burnham essentially is giving up, you know, what was a pretty signific ant post to run for backbenches and they're pretty clear. I mean, Mr. Streeting said yesterday, I am standing. Mr. Burnham basically, if you understand uh English, said pretty much the same th ing. So they want a leadership contract. If they are successful, do you think um, having talked to the Prime Minister, is there any part of him that might say, you know what time to call it call it a day if there is a contest . Well look, I can't speak for the Prime Minister. Only he can do that. Um I know that he weighs up the very heavy responsibility on him to make sure that we deliver on the promise that we made to people to create bigger and far more fundamental change in people's lives with far greater urgency than they've seen from us I think there's a recognition across the whole party, whether it's Andy Wes Keir or any other man involved in our political movement, who have been saying that very openly for some time. But I I believeve that we' got to pull together, we've got to move forwards, and the Prime Minister, of course, has to make his own decision about whether he wants to take that next fight forwards. And ultimately, whether he does that will be up to him, it'll be up to Labour MPs and it'll be up to the people of this country. But I was talking to quite a few Tory MPs in Parliament this week when we were down there delivering the King's speech, setting out changes to send and provision in schools and other things that will really help people. They were saying to me, you know, this is one of the ways in which this country was allowed to get into the state that it did that we inherited in 2024. Because when you have this kind of introspection, what ends up happening is that things just stop moving in government and we cannot allow that to happen. I'm here today talking to you, uh wanting to talk to you about how we're launching a bid to bring the Olympics to the north. I'd love to talk to you about the work we're doing rebuilding youth work and youth workers all over the country. But instead we're talking about this and Westminster has been talking about little else for for for a week. So I think it's time that we brought people back into the conversation. They sent us a message loud and clear last Thursday that they want far more urgent, far bolder change. I agree with the Prime Minister on that, I agree with Andy Burnham on that. I think it's time that we took that fight out and started showing people that we will not hesitate to take on any system that stands in the way of them living a better life. He said Britain's future lies with Europe, back in the European Union. Trevor Phillips asked Lisa Nandy if she agreed with his position. out his stall and he chose the ground on which he wants to fight. He has said straight away that he thinks that we, this country should one day be back in the EU. Is that the right grounds on which to fight? And do you think that do you agree with that aim ? Well, I I like and respect Wes a lot and I listened carefully to what he had to say yesterday. I I think, you know, I have a different perspective on this and we do as a government, the government that he was part of until recently has been trying to take a far more pragmatic approach to bringing us closer to Europe and repairing some of the damage that was done from a poor Brexit deal to people's living standards in parts of the country like mine, rather than reopening the Brexit wars and and going round back again through round that track. He's wrong to make this picture rejoin the EU. Well I just think it's a bit odd if I'm honest, because essentially if the rejoining the EU is the answer to what we were just told loud and clear by the country, and you know, parts of the country like mine, where 25 out of 25 we lost 25 out of 25 wards, 24 of them to reform. If rejoining the EU is the answer, then essentially what we're saying to people is life was fine in 2015, we just need to go back there. I know Wes is coming up to campaign in the by-election quite soon. He will hear loud and clear from people in places like Wigan, Ashton, Winstanley, across Makerfield, that that is absolutely not the case. And the answer has to be bigger. It has to be the sort of things discussed On the BBC, Laura Koonsberg spoke to another recently resigned minister, Jess Phillips, asking her why she thought West Streeting would do a better job as Prime Minister. What about the potential candidates then to replace him? Why would your friend WES Streeting do a better job in your view? I can give some concrete examples of working with Wes in government. For example we announced that every part of England would have a specialist children's sexual uh uh abuse uh health hub in ev i in across the entirety of England. I I can speak uh as somebody who I asked to step up and believe you me, he he once said to me that the process of me writing the violence against women and girls strategy felt a little bit like me hanging him upside down by his ankles and shaking out his pockets. But um the like the the the reality is is he he stepped up and he got the right people to do the right thing. So there's one example uh of where I actually found him very forthcoming. Now the Prime Minister does definitely care about violence against women and girls, don't get me wrong. But like what I see from Wes is bravery and boldness. When it comes then to a potential contest, I'm gonna try out two yes or no questions. Okay, go for it. Does there have to be a contest for the next leader of the Labour Party? Some s people are suggesting there could be a coronation for Andy Burnham if he wins a by-election? I think it'd be better if we had a contest, personally. Um not a really long one though. My gosh, uh they can be uh quite tedious. Um but uh sorry that wasn't yes or no. Yes, there has to be a concert contest. And should Keir Starmer run if there's a contest? Uh in my opinion, no. We've got there. Jess Phillips. Thank you so much indeed. I think that probably is the first time that a politician has actually ever said almost yes or no to a yes or no question. Thank you . Unite the Kingdom and pro-Palestine marches both took place on Saturday. Before the rally organized by Tommy Robinson, eleven foreign far right activists were barred from entering the country. On GB News, Camilla Tommy asked Conservative leader Kemi Badenock whether she thought Unite the Kingdom speakers should have been allowed to attend. Finally, on the Unite the Kingdom um march and the pro-Palestinian march that went on yesterday, and to be fair, all credit to the police kept both sides apart. It did cost nearly five million quid to police it. Where do you stand? 'Cause there'd been a bit confusion about whether or not you support the Unite the Kingdom uh speakers to speak, whether you think Kirstan was right to suggest that some of them should be banned. So my view on marches is very simple. That where they create a climate of intimidation and fear and they're actually a cover for people to be doing something else. They should be stopped. That's why I said they should ban the pro-Palestinian marches. We've had enough of those. I've actually said that the United Kingdom rally is fine. There are some people uh who go there to cause trouble. I'm not a supporter of Tommy Robinson, I don't endorse him, but um I don't think that there is an issue with that, and people who misbehave are arrested. Now, the thing that um some people are agitating about is about foreigners coming to speak at that rally. I'm not here to speak for foreigners. The free speech that I want is for free free speech for people in this country. Let's unite this kingdom for once. Why is everybody agitating for foreigners? You've got uh half the people uh talking about what's happening in Palestine and Gaza, and another group saying that they want all sorts of people coming here. Let the security services and the prime minister make a call. If I'm prime minister, I want to be able to say no, some people can't come into this country. If Keir Starmer had been doing that, we wouldn't have a small boats crisis. So he does know how to stop some people from coming into the country. But briefly, my interest in my interest is in what is happening to the people here. I've got police officers in Essex who have to go to all these protests? They're counselling, they're leave. Even if you're not in London, if you if you and the home counties, Kent, Sussex, sorry, all of these people are giving less police agencies because of the. Robinson marches to take place, but not pro-Palestinian months, 'cause you just said I've had enough of those. So uh to honestly, we are spending so much money on endless protests. The protest, the right to protest and free speech. People were fighting for their right to vote, for universal suffrage, for for women's rights. Now everybody's just angry all the time and on the streets all the time. I think that we've had, you know, it that I'm not asking for a uh uh a ban on all protests, but I just think people need to calm down. Let's focus on what's wrong with the country. There's not enough money around. There are too many people not working. There's a war on in the Middle East and in Europe. Where what are we doing on defense? Where are the plans? And if we spend all our money and all our time with people going into the streets, arguing constantly, we're not focused on the real issues. Yes, there's a right to protest. Ban the ones where they're trying to uh promote the the you know uh you know Jews being wiped off the planet. We we don't want that . But let's actually just get back to business. I want more common sense. Trevor Phillips also spoke to Kemi Baden ok, who was bullish about her party's progress, despite the recent local election results. So no, let me be very clear. No deals. If people want conservative policies, they need to vote conservative. I know it's a conversation We're not switching anything up to help Nigel Farage or to help for. I know it's early on Sunday morning. I may be missing the point here , but I think reform won more than fourteen hundred new seats last week. I think that you lost oh getting on for seven hundred. Nope. That's not true. How many do you lose? That's not true. And also don't feel like that. How many did you lose? No, no, no, Trevor, Trevor, we lost. I'm I'm not here to say we didn't lose seats. But these are seats that we won at the height of conservatism, you know, when Boris Johnson was there. We have gone forward since last year. The voters are not. No, no, no, no. I'm not playing this game, Trevor. I'm not playing this game. We want six places. No, I know what you're trying to do. I'm not here to talk about reform. If people want reform, they'll vote reform. If people want conservatives, they'll vote conservatives. I'm not doing a deal. That's the point. And I'm tired of people constantly making politics to uh again. Who are you gonna deal do a deal with? Who are you stitching this up with? I'm here to talk about bringing down the welfare bill, cutting our energy bills, making sure that we are economically success successful, getting Britain working. I don't want to hear about Nigel Farage who doesn't have any policy and is just messing around. He might be doing well on a protest though. No, I'm it's three years till a general election. You get elected. It's three years until a general election. Is there a general election tomorrow, Trevor? I don't think so. That's all for this week. I'm Isabel Hardman, and this podcast was produced by Joe Bidell Brill. If you enjoy coffee house shots, don't forget to click the follow button on whatever platform you are listening to us on. That way you'll get the latest episode straight to your feed as soon as it's released. And do subscribe to our daily evening blend