Catherine West's Call for Leadership Contest 'Completely Wrong', Says Bridget Phillipson
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, spoke on Sky’s Sunday with Trevor Phillips regarding Catherine West’s leadership challenge.
When asked about West’s challenge, Phillipson stated:
"Catherine is a great colleague, and I’ve known her a long time. And I have real respect for Catherine. On this one, I do part company with her. I think she’s got this completely wrong."
Phillipson acknowledged that the party had received a "real kicking" from voters but expressed that she does not believe a leadership contest is the solution.
"I don’t think … a leadership contest and all of the problems that that would bring is the answer."
Later, during an interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Phillipson reiterated many of her earlier points. She also expressed concern about the divisions emerging in Britain, noting that Reform UK performed "incredibly well" in Sunderland, where they took control of the council. She highlighted that one elected Reform UK candidate had made statements suggesting racist views, which she said must be challenged.
When asked if Andy Burnham’s supporters had requested her to withdraw to avoid a leadership contest at this time, West did not answer directly. Instead, she emphasized the importance of moving quickly to avoid uncertainty, which she said would be detrimental.
West Sidesteps Question on Securing MP Support for Leadership Challenge
When questioned about reports from Labour MPs doubting her ability to secure the necessary support for a leadership challenge, West described herself as a "fair person" and said she would consider Starmer’s upcoming speech.
"If I’m still dissatisfied, I will put out my email to the parliamentary Labour party asking for names. And the reason I’m doing that is not for me. It’s for working people. Because Labour is the only party that can beat Reform. We are the only national force that can take on Reform across the whole of the UK, and that will be the job coming up in the 2028 or ‘29 general election."
Regarding whether she believed she could secure the numbers, West mentioned her friendship with Anna Turley, chair of the Labour party, and said she had requested a timetable for an orderly transition into a leadership contest. She also reiterated her call for women to consider standing.
Kuenssberg began her main interview by asking West why she was urging the cabinet to act.
"What I’d like the cabinet to do is to reflect on the result from Thursday, where the voters sent us a very strong message that we are not good enough. If you a school failing an inspection report, you would take the head out, wouldn’t you? Or you take the chair of the council out. The same goes for a hospital inspection or in a company. The CEO would have to take responsibility and the board would have to basically bring on new leadership."
West Encourages Phillipson to Consider Labour Leadership
At the start of the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Kuenssberg addressed Catherine West and Bridget Phillipson, who were waiting for their interviews.
Kuenssberg expressed a desire for a cabinet minister to challenge Starmer and noted Phillipson was present. She asked West what message she had for Phillipson.
"Well, there’s nothing stopping Bridget from standing. Why are all the men better than the women? We do need some senior women to step forward and to challenge for what is going to be a really difficult two and a half years between now and the general election, and also to take us into that second term. I love you dearly, Catherine, but I just disagree on this one."
On the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said Labour risked becoming "extinct". She argued the party had abandoned the working class, which in turn abandoned Labour. She called for a "completely different economic direction and political direction".
At the conclusion of the interview, Trevor Phillips asked Phillipson if she believed Starmer would lead the party into the next election and if she wanted him to.
"Yes on both counts."
During the subsequent panel discussion, journalists Anne McElvoy from Politico and Patrick Maguire from The Times suggested Phillipson did not display full enthusiasm in her response.
Immigration Plans and Party Mistakes Discussed
When asked about Angela Rayner’s statement regarding Shabana Mahmood’s plan to extend the waiting period for immigrants to apply for indefinite leave to remain, Phillipson noted the plan was subject to consultation.
"But it is right that we take action on immigration. It is also right that we demonstrate to the public that not only can we control the borders, we control who lives in our country."
Trevor Phillips referenced Harriet Harman and Gordon Brown as serious figures and friends of his but mocked the idea that non-Labour voters last Thursday might have changed their minds if they had known about their appointments.
Phillipson defended Harman and Brown as "tremendously talented people" with much to offer.
Regarding Starmer’s admission of mistakes without specifying them, Phillipson identified some key errors, including the cutting of winter fuel payments for most pensioners. She also cited the party’s overly gloomy and negative messaging early on.
"Early on people knew the country was in a mess. They didn’t need us to remind us to to remind them in such detail that the country was a mess."
Labour Losing Support Due to Perceived Failure to Deliver Change, Phillipson Says
Asked if she had a message for MPs supporting West’s leadership challenge, Phillipson said:
"What I heard [from voters during the election] was not a desire for a leadership contest, for the Labour party to spend more time talking amongst ourselves. What I heard loud and clear from voters was their deep sense of frustration that they’d voted for change in 2024. They were hopeful that that change would be delivered, and they don’t feel that we as a party, or we as a Labour government, have delivered what they wanted."
Phillipson Doubts West Will Secure Enough Support for Challenge
When asked what would happen if West obtained all the necessary signatures to launch a leadership challenge, Phillipson replied:
"I don’t think that will happen."
She added that the key issue was the party’s need to respond to the election results.
Starmer Insists He Will Not Resign Amid Leadership Challenge
Good morning. Ahead of the English, Scottish, and Welsh elections, which were poor for Labour, an unexpected development has emerged: a leadership challenge from Catherine West.
West, MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet and a former junior Foreign Office minister until her dismissal in last year’s reshuffle, has stated that unless a cabinet minister challenges Starmer by tomorrow morning, she will do so herself. To trigger a contest, she requires the support of 81 Labour MPs; there is no evidence she currently has this support. She is being described as a stalking horse, a term whose relevance may be unclear to those under 50.
While few MPs may support West as leader, more than 81 reportedly want Starmer replaced before the next election. Nearly 40 MPs have publicly expressed this since Thursday’s elections, often adopting the stance of wanting a leadership contest but not immediately.
The reasons vary: some believe Starmer should be given a chance to recover, while many on Labour’s soft left favor Andy Burnham as the best replacement. They seek a commitment from Starmer to step down in the medium term, allowing Burnham to enter parliament and stand as a candidate.
West aims to accelerate this process, a move seen as detrimental to Burnham and potentially advantageous to Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM, who would likely be the leading candidates in an immediate contest. West denies acting on behalf of others and has noted the "plenty of talent" in the shadow cabinet capable of leadership. Since Thursday, Rayner has not commented on the election defeats; Streeting has also remained silent.
The prospect of an early contest has led some soft-left Labour MPs to revive discussions about persuading Ed Miliband to stand. For more details, see the story by Peter Walker and Jessica Elgot.
Starmer has affirmed his intention to remain in position, describing his work as a "10-year project of renewal" and expressing his goal to lead Labour into the next general election and serve a full second term.
"I’m not going to walk away from the job I was elected to do in July 2024. I’m not going to plunge the country into chaos."
Agenda for the Day
- 8.30am: Bridget Phillipson, education secretary, interviewed on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on . Other guests include Richard Tice, Reform UK deputy leader; Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru leader and next first minister of Wales; James Cleverly, shadow housing secretary; and Stephen Flynn, outgoing SNP Westminster leader.
- 9.30am: Catherine West interviewed on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Phillipson, Tice, ap Iorwerth, and Cleverly also appear.
- 1pm: Rally against antisemitism outside Downing Street.
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