Labour supporters of Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham have been accused by deputy prime minister David Lammy of “lighting a match and standing in the petrol” of the party’s destruction.
The provocative remarks by Mr Lammy, a close ally of Sir Keir Starmer, came as he said the prime minister would fight to survive if a Labour leadership contest is triggered.
Mr Lammy said if such a battle took place over the next 10 weeks, the party would be out of office and it would pave the way for Nigel Farage to take power.
He dismissed Mr Streeting’s call for the UK to rejoin the EU as a “sixth form debate”, saying Labour’s task was to deliver on its election pledges.
Mr Lammy claimed Sir Keir would survive Mr Streeting’s resignation, just as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair had survived the resignations of Cabinet critics Michael Heseltine and Robin Cook after similar disagreements.
Commenting on the Labour infighting over moves to replace Starmer, Mr Lammy said: “Introspection, internecine warfare? Effectively, some of our colleagues are lighting the match and standing in the petrol.
“That is not going to deliver on behalf of the British people. That will usher in Farage.”
He described the Labour turmoil in the 10 days following Mr Streeting’s resignation as health secretary as “an extraordinary own goal”.
Asked about Mr Streeting’s comments about reversing Brexit, he said: “Wes Streeting is free to say what he wants. I am not going to speculate about the next Labour manifesto.
“This is not a sixth form debate, it is about delivery on behalf of the British people.”
Unless uncertainty over the prime minister’s position was brought to an end, Labour would be “desperate trouble, we will be out of office and what we will be ushering in is Farage,” said Mr Lammy.
He told the BBC he was “very sad when Wes Streeting decided to leave the government”.
However, he added: “But just as Michael Heseltine left Thatcher’s government, just as Robin Cook left Blair’s government, just as James Purnell left Brown’s government, people do resign when they cannot sign up to collective [cabinet] responsibility.”
Sir Keir was “the most resilient person I know”, and Mr Lammy appealed to Labour MPs to show more “discipline” and be “loyal” to him.
Supporters of the Mayor of Greater Manchester have also called for the prime minister to resign, ahead of a likely challenge from Mr Burnham in the weeks ahead.
Labour MP and former Starmer ally Josh Simons announced last week he would be resigning as the MP for Makerfield in order to allow Mr Burnham a chance to return to parliament.
If victorious, the current Mayor of Greater Manchester would be able to launch an official challenge against the prime minister, paving his way to No 10.
Mr Lammy said he would “100 per cent” be joining his Labour colleagues to campaign for Mr Burnham, telling the BBC it “would be great to have him back in parliament”.
He also appeared to suggest that Sir Keir may be planning on campaigning himself for his leadership rival.
Asked if the prime minister would be going to Makerfield to show support for Mr Burnham, Mr Lammy told the BBC: “All of us in cabinet will be campaigning to ensure that there is a Labour win in Makerfield.”
Pushed again on whether Sir Keir could be campaigning for Mr Burnham, he said: “Look, we have to get back to being one united team, we’ve had 10 days of introspection. Let us now put that to one side. Let us unite to fight this by-election and to deliver on behalf of the British people.”
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