Jess Phillips says Starmer 'lacks drive to get anything done' in first interview since resigning

Recently resigned minister Jess Phillips has said Sir Keir Starmer "lacks the drive to get anything done with gusto".

Ms Phillips stepped down as safeguarding minister on Tuesday, becoming the most senior minister at the time to resign over the prime minister's leadership.

Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby in her first interview since then, she told the Electoral Dysfunction podcast: "I think that what he [Sir Keir] lacks, and his operation lacks, is the drive to get anything done with the gusto that is needed.

"It's like we run an analogue government in a digital world."

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She also said that although she has a "huge amount of fondness" for Andy Burnham, who is thought to be a frontrunner to replace Sir Keir, she would warn him against having a "level of entitlement".

Mr Burnham, who is currently mayor of Manchester, needs to become an MP to be able to stand to replace Sir Keir as prime minister.

Makerfield MP Josh Simons announced on Thursday that he was stepping down so Mr Burnham could stand in a by-election. It came just a few hours after leadership hopeful Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary.

Ms Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, added: "It looked like there's a sort of level of entitlement [from Andy Burnham], like 'I'll just have X, Y and Z seats'.

"I'm really rooted in the place where I represent, so I think it doesn't look great at playing a sort of Games of Thrones."

The MP revealed she did not speak to Sir Keir before she released her letter announcing she was standing down as a government minister.

"I'm not sure it would have made any difference at all," she said.

"I think he finds it quite hard to listen."

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Mr Streeting resigned as health secretary on Thursday lunchtime following days of speculation that he wants to challenge Sir Keir for his position - although he has not yet fired the starting gun on a race.

Ms Phillips said: "I think what Wes has done is a brave thing, and I think he's been a brilliant health secretary."

She said she thinks Sir Keir's team "has done an amazing job of making this somehow Wes Streeting's fault", despite the call for the PM to go from dozens of Labour MPs being sparked by the local election results.

"Take some responsibility," she said.

"We're destabilised because of the situation that we found ourselves in, and an unpopular prime minister who people feel is only able to have incremental change.

"The idea the destabilisation started with Wes Streeting, or Angela Rayner, or Andy Burnham - that we would have absolutely no problems in the Labour Party if it weren't for them - it just doesn't ring true."

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