Labour MP threatening to oust Keir Starmer reveals how he can win her over
Although a wave of MPs called for Starmer to resign, no senior Labour figures have said they will challenge him.
So West – who once backed Jeremy Corbyn for leader – announced yesterday she would put her name forward if no one in the Cabinet makes a move over the weekend.
The Hornsey and Friern Barnet MP said: ‘We are heading towards electoral disaster in two years time.
‘We have to turn the Labour Party into a fighting machine for the next general election, so we can get a second term.
‘We need a better communicator. I would have expected the Cabinet to have met over the weekend to ask the Prime Minister to step aside.’
Education Secretary Bridget Philipson called West’s plan ‘completely wrong’ this morning, but the veteran MP is undeterred.
The only thing left in her way is Sir Keir’s do-or-die speech on Monday, laying out how he will reset his premiership.
West said: ‘Once he has spoken, I will decide whether he is convincing or whether we need to move to put out the timetable to elect a new leader.’
Asked how the prime minister can change her mind, the left-wing MP responded: ‘I want to see Keir Starmer fighting. He is not fighting. He has got to fight for working people.’
What would show that he’s fighting? ‘His demeanor,’ she said.
‘He’s got to wake up every morning thinking, “Why am I awake? I’m awake to make this country fairer and to help working people in their daily lives.”‘
The north London MP also suggested Starmer pledge to expand his top team to include areas of the country where they are losing voters.
West explained: ‘We have Members of Parliament in seaside towns, in the cities, in Scotland and Wales, and yet there’s no attempt to use them to get the message out.’
The backbencher insisted she would ‘rather not’ put herself forward and hopes that the media frenzy around her bid will encourage the Cabinet to act first.
However, West revealed that no Cabinet politician had been in touch to say they supported her plan.
The only Minister she has even spoken to since her announcement has been the Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds, who she encouraged to stand.
‘I did suggest to him he might be good. He’s done a lot of good things on bringing steel back into public ownership. He’s from a working family background in the northeast.’
Despite silence from the Cabinet, West said a lot of backbenchers had texted her to say ‘Well done’.
She added: ‘That’s not the same as saying that they want to see me as the Prime Minister. What they are saying is we need change.’
What is Catherine West's vision for the country?
By threatening to put her name forward to topple Keir Starmer, West is prepared to take on the top job herself, although she says that is not what she wants.
Asked what her vision for the country would be if she entered Number 10, she said: ‘I want to put working people first. That’s what the Labour Party is for, to ensure that we look after working people, that we think about them every day we wake up.
‘That we try our hardest to make sure every child has the best education in life, that the National Health Service is there for everybody from cradle to grave.
‘That we begin to tackle the mental health crisis with young people so they can once again begin to work and enjoy contributing to society.
‘I want to see obviously our economy be steady and stable despite what’s happening abroad.’
West refused to disclose if she would back out if other contenders eventually came forward. ‘It is far too early to say,’ West insisted.
The parliamentarian also won’t say if she backs any of the leading contenders to replace the PM – thought to be Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham. Instead, called on female MPs to have a go.
She said: ‘Everybody has an idea of their perfect candidate. There is no perfect candidate. I have said to all the women in the party, “Stand up,” because I think that could be the sort of thing that we need.
Keir Starmer vowed to stay on in Number 10 for another eight years in an interview with The Observer over the weekend, saying he would fight any leadership challenges.
He told the paper his government was a ’10-year project of renewal’ and has pledged to set out ‘with clarity’ his values and convictions during his speech on Monday.
He added: ‘I’m not going to walk away from the job I was elected to do in July 2024,” he said. “I’m not going to plunge the country into chaos.’
West accepted that any leadership contest to find a new Labour leader would bring ‘an element of uncertainty’ but said that was ‘worth it’ to find a more suitable Prime Minister.
Starmer also used his interview to address to rise of Reform and the Greens, who stole voters from Labour at the ballot box on Thursday.
He said: ‘I have a strong belief that there aren’t many people who actually want Zack Polanski or Nigel Farage as prime minister.
‘I think that the mainstream majority actually want to know that we, the government, have progressive answers to the challenges that they face on a daily basis, and we need to spell out in terms and with conviction that we do have those progressive answers.’
West’s challenge to Starmer has also been criticised by other Labour MPs.
Richard Burgon, also a former ally of Jeremy Corbyn, said there ‘a real danger that, whatever her good intentions, her move will be exploited by people on the right of the party who want a coronation and not a proper democratic contest in the party.;
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