‘I think the very best thing the Prime Minister could do now is address the nation tomorrow and set out a timetable for his departure’
MP for Hartlepool Jonathan Brash (Image: Getty)
A furious Labour MP has slammed Sir Keir Starmer after a Reform clean sweep – stating he should ‘address the nation tomorrow’ to resign.
The Labour MP for Hartlepool, where Reform UK took all 12 seats up for grabs, has called for Sir Keir Starmer to go.
Jonathan Brash, whose wife Pamela Hargreaves, leader of Hartlepool council, lost her seat as the council slipped into no overall control, said the Prime Minister should “set out a timetable for his departure” on Friday.
Mr Brash, who has previously said he did not expect Sir Keir to lead the party into the next general election, told The Guardian: “It has been a terrible night for the Labour Party.
“What I’ve seen here is extraordinarily good, hard-working, Hartlepool people lose their seats.
“I’ve seen canvassers working night and day in this election and it’s all been for naught and the reason has absolutely nothing to do with them.”
He added: “They are delivering for this town, they have been delivering for this town and the reality is we need change at the top of the Labour Party.
“I think the very best thing the Prime Minister could do now is address the nation tomorrow and set out a timetable for his departure.
“We can then have an orderly transition, one that, by the way, ensures the full breadth of talent within the Labour Party is able to stand, should it want to.”
Mr Brash also said it was “time to stop the political cowardice” on big issues affecting the country.
It’s been a successful night for Farage and Reform (Image: Getty)
David Lammy has argued against playing “pass the parcel” by removing Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
Asked about a report suggesting Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has privately urged Sir Keir to go after the elections, the Deputy Prime Minister told the BBC: “I think Ed Miliband has said that he doesn’t recognise that.
“But look, let’s be clear, Keir Starmer won a mandate for five years to deliver for the British people, and now some people are suggesting that we should go away and play pass the parcel.
“The Tories did that with leader after leader after leader.”
He added: “Yes, there are questions that we have to answer, but there is no, there is no circumstances in which the answer to the questions that the British people are raising is to change the leader yet again.
“That is not what is coming up on the doorstep. What they want is delivery. What they want is hope. What they want is change, and that’s what we’ve got to deliver.”