A Labour rebel has compared Sir Keir Starmer to a 'cockroach', suggesting she would not 'bet against' the Prime Minister surviving the current political turmoil. Jess Phillips, who resigned last week backing Wes Streeting for the top job, grudgingly acknowledged Sir Keir's resilience when his 'back is against the wall'.
Speaking on ITV's Peston programme, Ms Phillips was asked whether Sir Keir could end up clinging on. 'Don't bet against somebody who seems to have the resilience of... I was about to say a cockroach in a nuclear war, but it's about the PM and not what I would want to say at all,' she said. 'But it's absolutely right that when his back is against the wall he grows in stature and his team around him leap into action.'
She also suggested that the premier's allies had been deliberately trying to 'manifest a crisis' to help him hold onto power. Pressed on whether it was sustainable for the Government to be combating a crisis every week, Ms Phillips added: 'That's the problem, you can't manifest a crisis - although actually there's definitely been some effort to do that - every week so that you can rally the troops again back to your flag. But look, a minute seems like a long time in politics at the moment so who knows what is going to happen.'
The comments come amid a 'shadow' leadership contest. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is fighting a by-election in Makerfield, with many assuming he will challenge if he succeeds in returning to the Commons. However, Sir Keir has voiced defiance, pledging to battle for votes from activists if there is an attempt to oust him. The Government has been unveiling a blizzard of policies as the premier tries to show he still has a grip on the levers of power, despite signs that Cabinet ministers are already jostling for roles in a future Burnham administration.
Resigning as safeguarding minister last week, Ms Phillips said she believed Sir Keir was a 'good man' but that 'is not enough'. 'I think you are a good man fundamentally, who cares about the right things however I have seen first-hand how that is not enough,' she wrote in her resignation letter to the PM. 'The desire not to have an argument means we rarely make an argument, leaving opportunities for progress stalled and delayed.'
