Reopening the Brexit debate and rejoining the EU is a “world away” from what people want, the culture secretary has said after both Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham suggested it was in the UK’s best interest.
On Saturday, the mayor of Manchester told ITV News he believed there was “long-term case” for rejoining the European Union, although he added he was not going to advocate it in the upcoming Makerfield by-election.
In a speech over the weekend, Streeting was even more explicit, saying Brexit was a “catastrophic mistake,” and said: “Britain’s future lies with Europe, and one day – one day – back in the European Union.”
Both Streeting and Burnham have been seen as two of the key operators angling to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister and they have begun outlining their vision for the country.
Watch ITV News’s full interview with Andy Burnham
But speaking to ITV News, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy said she said: “I’m slightly baffled as to why anybody would think that the only answer to the absolute kicking that Labour got at the polls last Thursday is Europe.”
She added: “Essentially that is saying to people in towns like mine in Wigan that we just need to go back to 2015 when everything was fine.
“Everything was not fine then.
“We’ve got serious action that we need to take as a country to make sure that the economy, housing, public services work for people in a way that they haven’t done for a really long time.”
She said the government was in favour of renegotiating the Brexit deal to “repair some of the needless damage that we did to people’s living standards is absolutely the right approach.
Wes Streeting has said he would stand in a leadership election. Credit: PA
“I think simply going back around the track of having an ideological argument about whether we rejoin the European Union or not is a world away from what people are asking for.”
Nandy was also clear that if a leadership challenge was triggered, then Starmer would stand for re-election as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister.
When asked if she supported Burnham or Streeting, Nandy responded, “I’m backing the government.”
But Nandy also said she was campaigning in Makerfield on Saturday and said Burnham was “extremely popular” in the area and said Labour would benefit from his return to Parliament.
Speaking in his first interview since he was cleared to run as a candidate in the Makerfield election, Burnham told ITV News he understood the challenge he faced.
Reform made significant gains in the region during the recent local elections, and Nigel Farage has promised to throw everything he has at the election.
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The by-election was triggered after the current MP, Josh Simmons, resigned explicitly so Burnham could stand.
Burnham is widely seen as the favourite to replace Starmer as PM if a leadership election is triggered, despite the fact he is not yet an MP.
Other contenders include Streeting and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.
The prime minister has so far refused to stand down and has insisted he will carry on in his role.
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But since the local election, which saw Labour lose over 1,000 seats, many in the party have viewed his authority as fatally flawed and have called for him to outline a timetable for his resignation.
Speaking to ITV News, Burnham did not directly say he is planning to challenge Starmer for the top job but he said he would take his fight “as high as I can go.”
Streeting said on Saturday he would run in any leadership contest.
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