Labour's most embarrassing week yet? Minister admits 'terrible' time after party civil war breaks-out
Housing Secretary Steve Reed tells Nick Ferrari the public "aren't seeing the change they expected to see" from Labour.
Labour has had a “terrible” and “embarrassing” week after its local elections wipeout sparked party infighting, a minister told LBC.
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Speaking to Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Housing Secretary Steve Reed admitted it has been a bleak week to be a Labour MP after the party lost more than 1,400 seats in its worst local election results in more than 50 years.
He told Nick: “I think we've had a terrible week. We were sent here to end the chaos that we saw under the Conservatives when they had the revolving door of chaos. Nine education secretaries, seven chancellors of the exchequer, five prime ministers in eight years. And we promised stability.
“Now, stability is what we've delivered so far. It's why we're seeing the economy growing and NHS waiting lists falling. But last week has been an embarrassing week if you're a Labour MP. We need to take a breath this weekend.”
It comes as Sir Keir fights to stay in the job after Thursday saw several candidates launch their opening salvos of leadership campaigns.
Read more: Labour leadership battle: who are the contenders?
Andy Burnham announced his intention to be Labour's candidate in the upcoming Makerfield by-election - with MP Josh Simons standing to clear the way for the Greater Manchester Mayor to return to Westminster.
It followed an excoriating attack by the former health secretary Wes Streeting in which he publicly derided the Prime Minister while resigning from his Cabinet post.
In a letter to Sir Keir, Mr Streeting said he had "lost confidence" in the PM's leadership and that remaining in post would be "dishonourable and unprincipled".
Mr Streeting told the Prime Minister it was “now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election”.
“I'm sorry Wes has resigned because he's a friend as well as a very talented politician,” Mr Reed said.
His resignation comes after Labour lost key strongholds across the country from London councils to northern boroughs - with many flipping to Reform, the Greens and the Lib Dems.
When asked why people are so unhappy with Labour, Mr Reed replied: “They're not seeing the change yet that they expected to see.
“People want change you can feel, not just change that politicians talk about. So, for instance, we got the figures yesterday for the first quarter of this year, our economy grew faster than any of the other seven biggest economies on the planet.
“That means next week the chancellor can stand up and announce real help for families and businesses that are struggling with the cost of living crisis. But people aren't feeling that enough yet. So we need to focus more on how we get that change to be real in people's lives. We don't need to be talking to each other in the ways that the Tories did.”