Jones’s “Fantasy Politics” Warning Holds Through Bank Holiday Weekend
Senior Starmer ally Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, warned Labour against playing “fantasy politics” on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg yesterday: there is no “magic answer” to the country’s problems and “Britain is poorer and weaker than it needs to be”. Jones said Andy Burnham is “a brilliant politician” and he would campaign for him in Makerfield. The framing held through the Monday bank-holiday news cycle as the dominant cabinet-side line on the leadership question. Jones added: “Irrespective of individual ambitions from any of my colleagues, the big questions the country faces are still the big questions the country faces.”
Jones acknowledged the necessity of an internal party debate following Labour’s electoral setbacks: “I’m all up for having a debate inside the Labour Party about how we improve our electoral performance in the years ahead, because we don’t want to hand the country to Reform.” Sir Keir Starmer has defended his leadership, asserting that “our plan is working” and vowing to “keep pushing forward”. The Prime Minister has insisted he will not step down from No 10 even if Burnham wins the 18 June by-election and triggers a leadership contest. More than 150 Labour MPs have indicated support for the Prime Minister, or said it was not the right time for a leadership contest.