PM sketches out 'orderly timetable' for resignation as Streeting and Burnham weigh in on Britain rejoining the EU
Sources say that Sir Keir wants to leave No 10 'in a dignified way', as both contenders for the Labour leadership claim they want to scrap Brexit
Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting have both said they would seek a mandate to rejoin the European Union if they were elected Labour Party leader.
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In a speech on Saturday, Mr Streeting ramped up further pressure on Sir Keir Starmer by officially confirming his intention to replace him as Prime Minister while calling for Britain to rejoin the European Union.
Speaking publicly for the first time since quitting Government on Thursday, the former health secretary told the conference that leaving the EU was a “catastrophic mistake", adding that Britain needed a new “special relationship” with the EU, because "Britain’s future lies with Europe, and one day back in the European Union".
Mr Streeting also suggested that closer ties with Europe would help “rebuild our economy and trade, and improve our defence against the shared threats from Russian aggression and America First”.
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Moving closer to Europe was the first of three major policy ideas Mr Streeting floated: “The voters did more than send Labour a message last week, they issued a warning: that unless we change course, we risk being the handmaidens of Nigel Farage and the breakup of the United Kingdom.”
He called for a "proper contest" to replace the PM, as he and other senior Labour figures made their pitch to oust his former ally.
Mr Streeting said: We need a proper contest with the best candidates on the field, and I’ll be standing."
His comments have put Andy Burnham's position on Brexit back in the spotlight.
Mr Burnham claimed he was prepared to “fight to the highest level” if he is successful in contesting the Makerfield by-election, paving his way to a potential route to number 10.
On rejoining the EU, Mr Burnham told ITV News on Saturday that "In the long-term, there is a case for that" but he is "not advocating that in this by-election".
Burnham, like Streeting, has in the past said he respects the will of the British people on Brexit, and any move to rejoin the EU could only come if a fresh mandate had been secured.
Mr Burnham’s allies have told The Telegraph that he stands by his stance of wanting to rejoin the EU in due course.
It comes as the Prime Minister was said to be at Chequers sketching out what sources called an 'orderly timetable' for his resignation, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Despite his former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, advising him to "hang on," sources said Sir Keir wanted to leave No 10 "in a dignified way, and in a manner of his own choosing".
The Prime Minister has faced heavy pressure this week to step down following Labour's disastrous local election results.
Mr Streeting also insisted he did have enough support among MPs to trigger a contest, but suggested his challenge would "lack legitimacy" without rival Mr Burnham being given a chance to return to Parliament.
Speaking at the Progress think tank conference on Saturday, Mr Streeting added: "Firstly, I do have support in the parliamentary party, but this week I also had a choice.
“We could have rushed straight into a leadership contest, knowing not all of the candidates would be on the pitch, that Andy Burnham was about to stand in a by-election.
"If we had rushed ahead without giving Andy a chance to stand, the new leader, whether it was me or anyone else, would lack the legitimacy, and so we would end up extending instability and uncertainty.
“That might have been the self-interested thing to do for candidates who are in Parliament presently, but it wasn’t in the party’s interest and wasn’t in the national interest."
He also later hit out at Labour’s course over the last few years, telling the audience at the conference for the think tank Progress: "Corbyn’s leadership was marred by factionalism.
"The moral emergency of antisemitism in our party left little room for intellectual renewal or policy debate on the centre left.
Referencing the brewing contest to replace Sir Keir Starmer, he said: “That’s why we need a proper contest where all candidates can put their best foot forward."
Meanwhile for Mr Burnham, his path back to Parliament is far from straightforward with Reform promising to throw all of its resources into the campaign for the Makerfield by-election,
The mayor's path to becoming an MP opened up after sitting Labour MP Josh Simons resigned on Thursday.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Mr Burnham promised to vowed to take his fight to "the highest level" in a battle he claimed was a "campaign to change Labour".
He said: "I don't want, Reform this, Greens that. We want to listen to what people are saying.
"It’s then that big question. Do you want to just carry on as we are, or do you want a new path for Britain? And that path I've laid out is a very clear and a different one.
"I think it needs to be something of a circuit breaker for politics in this country."
Mr Burnham and Mr Streeting’s position on rejoining the EU drew criticism on Saturday night. Nigel Farage told The Telegraph: “He would be a disaster for the economy and betray every Brexit voter in the constituency. ‘Open borders Burnham’ must be stopped.”
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, said: “Whilst Labour re-litigate Brexit, Britain is not being governed.”