Sir Keir Starmer should not be thinking about standing aside amid the turmoil at the top of Government, his Home Secretary has said.A bitter briefing war broke out at the top of Government earlier this week, in which allies of the Prime Minister said he was willing to fight off challenges to his leadership.
00:00The Prime Minister has been absolutely clear that all briefings against any minister, or indeed anyone, are completely unacceptable.
00:07It's not how he does politics. I know that. I've seen him up close and personal. That is not how he operates.
00:13It's not how he expects his team to operate.
00:16One of the difficulties of these sorts of briefings, it is very difficult to find out exactly who was responsible.
00:21But I hope that the individuals who were responsible, who are now feeling the abject humiliation of what has happened,
00:28that that humiliation will serve as a reminder that they should not indulge in a repeat performance.
00:34The Prime Minister has made his position very clear. He sets the tone for the government.
00:38None of this is acceptable. We all need to focus on the people who put us in government in the first place.
00:44It is an incredible privilege to be the government of this country.
00:47We are only ever granted a few years at a time, and Labour governments don't come along that often in the history of this country.
00:54We have precious time. We must not waste a single second of it.
00:58And your colleague, Wes Streeting, had to deny this week that he was plotting any kind of leadership attempt.
01:04But it is, you know, it's well known that if the job came free, he'd probably have a tilt at it. Would you?
01:09Look, I don't indulge in this kind of, you know, future hypotheticals and all this ridiculous chitter chatter.
01:15It's not what I'm about.
01:16This is a valid question because Keir Starmer's leadership is questioned by many of your colleagues.
01:19That's not what I'm about, no.
01:20And Keir Starmer's leadership is not only secure, but he has the full support of all of his cabinet.
01:26He is our prime minister.
01:28He led us to a historic general election win at a time when people thought we would not form another government for at least a generation or more.
01:35That was only a year and a half ago.
01:37I know that things have been difficult.
01:39Government is always difficult.
01:40There are always challenges.
01:41The most important thing is Keir Starmer is our prime minister.
01:45We won a general election.
01:46We've been granted a privilege and precious time to set the direction for our country.
01:51All of us have to make sure that we do not waste a single second of that time.
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