'You can only hobble on a gangrenous leg for so long' - MP on Starmer's leadership

The Labour MP for Norwich South said removing Sir Keir Starmer as leader might be painful, but not doing so "would be disastrous for the country and my party".

In an interview with the BBC's Politics East programme, Clive Lewis said he thought it was unlikely that Sir Keir would still be leader by the end of the year.

He said the row over Peter Mandelson's appointment and the growing calls for the prime minister to resign had "damaged people's trust in our fragile democracy", and Labour needed to change course if it wanted to win back voters' confidence.

Downing Street said Sir Keir had taken responsibility and was showing the leadership the country needed, while another Norfolk MP described him as "a decent person and a man of integrity".

Lewis has been a long-standing critic of Sir Keir and in November became the first Labour MP to call for him to stand down.

He admitted that at one stage this week he thought "this was it", but believed it would only be a matter of time before Sir Keir was either forced or agreed to stand down.

"It's a bit like having a gangrenous leg," he told presenter Amelia Reynolds. "You can hobble around on it for quite a while, but at some point you need to sort it out.

"It's painful, but you need to do it, and if we don't do that, then I don't believe that we'll do anything other than hobble around, and that will be disastrous for the country and the party."

He said there needed to be a change in the way Labour did politics, and said its culture and proximity to wealth and power had changed the way many people viewed the party.

He asked: "Is Keir Starmer the person to make the change? I think there is an argument that he isn't... don't ask me who the person is to do that, but what I do know is that the public is crying out for a government which will do the things which it set out to do.

"I am not undermining the party, I just want Labour to do what it says on the tin."

Lewis also said he did not think Sir Keir's appearance before Labour MPs on Monday had turned things around for him.

"There were lots of people giving him a standing ovation who I know didn't mean it," he said.

The majority of Labour MPs still support the prime minister.

Lewis's colleague Terry Jermy, who is MP for South West Norfolk, agreed that the party needed to improve its game, but said he thought Sir Keir could still turn things around.

He told Politics East: "I think that fundamentally Keir Starmer is a decent person. I think he is a man of integrity, and I think he will be frustrated and dissatisfied with the last few weeks."

He said the party was at a turning point and the next few months would show whether the party could bring about change.

He added: "We need to learn from these mistakes. People voted for change [in 2024]. We have a responsibility now to demonstrate that we are able to deliver and make people's lives better.

"I really hope the prime minister leans into our Labour values and works collaboratively to make the change we know we need."

The prime minister's official spokesperson said Sir Keir had taken responsibility and was showing the leadership the country needed.

He said he had set out a clear determination to deliver on the mandate he was elected on with renewed energy and a clarity of message, and was focusing on "the priorities of the people which include driving down the cost of living" and making sure "Britain works again for ordinary working people".

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