‘Starmer Will Be KICKED Out' | Labour MPs Launch Campaign To Stop Rayner Replacing PM

Uh you can see, can't you, from uh front

page stories like the one in the eye

paper, this is there's a story been

planted from Angela Raina's camp. She

wants to be our next prime minister.

>> Oh, of course she does. Yes. And uh

opinion polls of Labour Party members

suggest that she's got a very good

chance of precisely that. Um, I mean,

I'm I'm bit frustrated because we

haven't had a a proper survey of of

Labour Party members

>> since February. Uh, but then, um, it was

it was Angela Raina 60%, Wes Streeting

40%. Um, and, uh, I think that's a bit

of a mountain for W Streeting to climb.

Well, that's right. I mean, we saw,

didn't we, yesterday Noah Hoffman uh,

writing for the spectator. He's a

political reporter saying that Wes

thinks he's got the numbers in the House

of Commons. You're not so sure.

>> No, he has got the numbers in the House

of Commons, but but MPs don't have the

final say. I This is where the Labour

Party went wrong in 1981.

Uh it it took the decision about its

leader out of the out of the sole hands

of MPs. The Conservative Party

unbelievably foolishly uh followed it in

in 1998. uh handed over the final

decision over a leader to the party

members and we saw led to Liz Trust we

saw where that led led led them I mean

the final disaster I mean that and that

was after Labour had had elected Jeremy

Corbyn

>> most definitely well of course all of

this presupposes that the prime minister

could fall in a week's time we'll be

dealing with the aftermath of those May

local elections is it a case of when not

if he goes in your view

>> well it always is Mark isn't

he's going to go at some point, but I

don't I don't think he's necessarily

going to go uh after these elections

precisely because uh MPs know how the

how the leadership election system works

and they they know that Angela Rener is

the most likely uh victor of a of a

leadership campaign. Uh and therefore

they're holding back. Uh I mean it only

takes 80 of them uh to to nominate her.

Uh and then Karma's finished. Uh but so

far those 80 have not materialized and

I'm not sure they're going to

materialize uh on Saturday the 8th of

May.

>> As the potential front runner of a

Labour leadership campaign, what's your

appraisal of Angela Raina's qualities as

a politician? John?

>> Well, personally, I I I think she's

fantastic. I think she's a she's a great

politician. and she's got a much better

feel for politics than uh than many of

her uh cabinet former cabinet colleagues

including the prime minister. But she

was not a success as as a minister. She

she hardly built any of those 1.5

million houses. Uh she virtually uh

crushed the private rented sector with

well-meaning but uh but

counterproductive regulation of tenants

rights. uh and she has made youth

unemployment worse by uh by loading on

employment regulation onto employers. Um

she's she's not a good uh choice as

prime minister. Uh although I think she

should be in government and of course if

she were to win a Labor leadership

election, she would be helped in that

ambition by the trade unions. And if she

gets into number 10, John, they would

want their pound of flesh.

Well, they would, but I don't think I

mean, yeah, that's that's not the

fundament my fundamental problem with

her. My my problem with her is that uh

she she seems to think that regulation

uh and uh loading burdens onto onto

business uh is the answer to every

problem. And I think that's that's the

wrong direction for for Labour to go on.

actually her instincts on many things

are are sound although I think she's

taken an opportun opportunistic uh

position attacking Shabban Mahmood's uh

immigration reforms.

>> Yeah. normally. I mean, in the past,

Angela Raina has been a socially

conservative uh left-winger. Um, very

slightly Brexity. Uh, she understands uh

why people in this country uh voted for

Brexit, but she uh she wants to be

leader and she knows that the Labour

Party members are incredibly liberal

when it comes to immigration and so

she's tilting towards that position and

that kind of opportunism is not what uh

I think the country needs as a prime

minister. So listening to what you're

saying, I think you're suggesting, John,

that she's a talented politician. The

problem, if she gets into number 10,

will be policy.

>> Yeah, absolutely. And I think I think

her policy her policies were wrong when

she was in government, and I suspect

they would be wrong as prime minister. I

hope I hope I'm wrong because um you

know, she's quite likely to be uh prime

minister. But uh uh on the other hand,

if K star holds on after the the local

elections uh then anything can happen

and West Streeting and and Shabbana

Marmud who I think would be much better

replacements for him uh might be able to

strengthen their position.

My endorsement of them is not going to

help.

>> No, probably probably and mine neither.

Even though Shabbana Mammud is an

impressive politician and I think she'd

be a better prime minister than

Starmmer, but it's probably not going to

happen because of where the party is at

the parliamentary party and the

membership. I mean what what I'm hearing

from you is that if Angela Raina becomes

prime minister, she will shift leftwards

and the international bond markets upon

whose large we rely to keep the lights

on, they will be none too happy. So it's

likely if she gets in, she'll have

problems from day one. Well, I would I

would hope that the opposite would

happen that actually because of her

left-wing reputation, she'd have space

to move in the other direction, but then

I read a really uh spine- chilling

stories about her uh wanting to appoint

Ed Milliband as as chancellor.

>> I think that would be an absolute

disaster for the country. Um

>> why do you say that?

>> Well, because his his instincts are

definitely uh wrong. um he's uh his his

pursuit of of net zero uh in the face of

uh of all the evidence. I mean, he he

simply cannot make the argument for um

for for renewables cutting uh

electricity prices when they're putting

electricity prices up. Uh and he just he

continually flies in the in the face of

facts. Uh I think I think he would be a

disaster. I'm not sure that Angela Raina

seriously wants to appoint him as as

chancellor, but uh it's not a risk that

this country can afford to take.

>> John, based upon this conversation and

your observation, is Star emerging as

the devil, you know?

>> Well, I was very surprised to see uh my

good friend Dan Hodges in the Daily Mail

today uh who's been absolutely vicious

about Karma for months and months and

saying he's completely finished and he

must go at once. uh he's suddenly he's

suddenly done a U-turn this morning

saying that if the alternative is Angela

Raina Kstama must stay. I I'm I'm of the

same view. I mean I don't think Karma

has been a successor prime minister but

if the alternative is Angela Raina then

he must stay. John, we always love

having you on the show. Look forward to

speaking soon. John Renol is the chief

political commentator at the independent

newspaper.