British Labour MP Clive Betts on the pressure for Keir Starmer to resign

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]A bets is a labor MP and he joins us now. Um This is a fine mess, isn't it? To use a term. You know the bind that you and your party are in with British voters.

[00:00:11]What do you expect to change under a new leader?

[00:00:16]Well, first of all, I think it's very clear from the voters that talked to me in our recent local elections and we went round door to door and spoke to a lot of people in the area I represent and they were saying, "No, we don't we we've got problems. We don't think the labor government's delivered all we want, but particularly we don't like the prime minister. We don't like Kier Starmer and we're not going to vote for you while he's the leader of your party."

[00:00:40]And that was said over and over again.

[00:00:43]In that situation I think you have a real challenge because even if you bring new policies in, even if you start a new narrative with the voters they've stopped listening.

[00:00:52]If they've stopped listening, there's nothing you're going to do to persuade them to change their mind. So, I think we do have to have a change of leader that change the public's view of the labor party and the labor government.

[00:01:04]Okay, given that who are you backing and why? Who is going to do what Kier Starmer was incapable of doing?

[00:01:10]You know, you're one of the number of interviewers who tried to lead me down that path in the last few days. All I've said all along is I think we've got to try and find a sensible way forward.

[00:01:21]Look, the reality is and Wes Streeting said it in his message there.

[00:01:26]Kier Starmer is not going to lead the labor party in the next election. I think that's one of the certainties in all this. It's merely a question of when he goes and whether there's absolute chaos or there's an orderly election to replace him. At this stage, there's still a lot of chaos around. I just hope eventually, and it's the cabinet that take responsibility, to say, "Right, we need to sort this out. We can't have this drag on for months and indeed probably the next two or three years. We need now to find a way of having an election and now all the people who are likely to be strong candidates to take part in that election. That's the only way we're going to get out of this and get to a better place in the next few months. But given the polarization and the division that we saw come through in those local elections, isn't there a risk that your party has just set up a turnstile at Downing Street and you will, like the conservatives, cycle through even more prime ministers?

[00:02:20]Uh we could do that. I I don't think we're quite as good at getting rid of our leaders and our prime ministers as the conservatives are. They've got a track record. I'm not sure that's something to aspire to. Just just letting you know about that.

[00:02:33]Right. So I I I think the the likelihood is we will have one change. It's It's important we get that change right, that we get a change, obviously, which our party supports, and that all our party members feel they've had a say in it.

[00:02:47]And then it's important that we pick someone who the British people is likely to have an opinion of which is favorable. Of course, that depends on how they perform in office, but one of the things a leader has to do, a prime minister has to do, is to be able to communicate with voters and let them feel at least that that that person is on their side, understands their problems and their concerns at the time of, you know, real pressure on living standards, of war in the Ukraine, of war in the Middle East.

[00:03:18]It's really important that an individual can speak to people on their wavelength and communicate well to them. I'm afraid um hasn't been able to do that. It's one of the criticisms. He really hasn't been able to communicate in a way that people feel he's got empathy with them and connects with them. But look, it seems your entire party has already moved on for Keir Starmer. So the task at hand here, the Chancellor saying that look, UK cannot afford this right now economically. You know that. You've been door-to-door and you you you look at all the statistics. You You have to wrap this up pretty quickly, right? And get on with governing and the policy. There are quite a few challenges on the economy.

[00:03:57]I think you're right, but if you could then come and talk to all my colleagues and say, "This is what you need to do."

[00:04:02]Maybe we can get a message across because in the end the cabinet has to take responsibility for this. And one of the things I'm really disappointed that we had disastrous local elections last week, the worst since the war.

[00:04:14]And yet the cabinet apparently didn't even discuss what was wrong and how what we should do to put it right. That that I think is a failure of leadership from the cabinet. I'm really disappointed in that because they're the organization, they're the top body in the government.

[00:04:28]Collectively they ought to be putting their minds to work at this. And apparently all the Prime Minister just said, "Back me or sack me." Well, they nodded their heads and got on with it.

[00:04:37]I'm sorry, you can't just do that with the disastrous results we've had. And people do want some leadership. People are struggling in their daily lives, cost of living pressures, very poor public services that we inherited from the Conservative government. They need putting right, but they need clearer leadership. The vision that West district talked about, not a vacuum unfortunately.

[00:04:59]Mr. Betts from Sheffield, England, I thank you as we continue to watch from the sidelines. Appreciate it.