Labour leadership talk ‘froth and nonsense’, says senior minister – UK politics live | Politics

The culture secretary said voters who abandoned Labour have said they will return to the party to support mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election.

Lisa Nandy told Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC: “I have to say knocking on doors yesterday, people – because of Andy’s record as mayor – who didn’t vote for us last week were saying they would vote for us again.

“He won every single ward in Makerfield every time he stood to be mayor, even when Labour hasn’t and that’s 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.”

Trevor Phillips asked Lisa Nandy why the Labour party had “three white blokes” 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.

The culture secretary pointed out she “did try to fix that” when she put her name forward for the leadership of the party in 2019.

But she added:

I 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 – I have just come over from Wigan to Salford – I have had two people already say to me ‘can you just get on with the job’.

“If 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.”

Lisa Nandy told Trevor Phillips the leadership crisis in the Labour party was “really winding” her up, during her morning interview on Sky News.

“I am sorry if I am 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 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,

“What I think the public really need to hear from us right now is that we’ve got a plan to turn things around.”

Asked about former health secretary Wes Streeting’s call for the UK to re-join the European Union, the culture secretary called the stance “a bit odd”

Lisa Nandy said the government was “trying to take a far more pragmatic approach” of forming a closer relationship with the EU, “rather than re-opening the Brexit wars”.

Commenting on her former cabinet colleague’s position, Nandy said: “I just think it’s a bit odd if I’m 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.”

Nandy said Streeting will “hear loud and clear from people” while campaigning that the public in Leave voting areas did not agree with his stance.”

Asked by Trevor Phillips on Sky News why she had not told Andy Burnham to “stay in Manchester”, Lisa Nandy said she wanted the Greater Manchester Mayor – whose decision to stand as an MP has led to a by-election in Makerfield – to return to Westminster.

“When you say, ‘stay in Manchester’, 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,” the culture secretary said.

The 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 – 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.”

The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said the prime minister Keir Starmer will not have resigned by the school summer holidays, despite a major challenge to his leadership after the local election results.

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

“Most of it has turned out to be just froth and nonsense. We have got to get on with the job.”