The next Labour leader should be sacked mid-parliament if they fail to impress, says newly elected Labour MP

Wes Streeting says the party should not tolerate an unpopular leader for the sake of 'unity'

Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Mary Creagh, Tristram Hunt and Liz Kendall address delegates at the Progress annual conference in central London, last weekend (Getty Images)

The next Labour leader should be unceremoniously sacked mid-parliament if they fail to impress the public, a newly elected Labour MP has warned.

Wes Streeting, who was elected to represent Ilford North at the general election, said Labour should never again enter a campaign led by someone with negative personal ratings.

He hinted that he would be open to starting a civil war against his party’s leader later in the parliament if they came to be seen as a handicap.

“I will absolutely back whoever is chosen as the next leader of the Labour party. But if we’re a couple of years out from a general election and we’re not doing well enough, then we can’t carry on demanding that people are silent in the name of unity,” Mr Streeting said in an interview with parliament’s The House magazine.

“I don’t think the Labour party can go into a general election campaign again with negative ratings on leadership and economic credibility. We couldn’t recover from that.”

Wes Streeting, Labour MP and former NUS president (Evening Standard)

Mr Streeting, a former president of the National Union of Students, said many people had “made up their minds” about former leader Ed Miliband by the time it came to cast their vote and said Labour should “learn lessons” from their experience with Mr Miliband and his predecessor Gordon Brown.

Ed Miliband’s personal ratings were significantly weaker than David Cameron’s throughout the last parliament, even when Labour had substantial poll leaders over the Conservatives.

Perceptions of Mr Miliband improved after increased exposure during the election campaign but he ultimately lead his party to a shock defeat.

“There’s nothing inevitable about a change in government; you have to work hard for it. You need the right leader to do that, and in modern politics not just the message but the messenger is absolutely crucial,” Mr Streeting argued.

“When you look back to the long period of Tory opposition, one of the challenges they had was a shortage of good leadership material. I think in the Labour party we’ve got it in abundance. We’ve got very credible leadership challengers, and they’re standing to lead us into the next election.

“We’ve got to give them our support to do that, and help them to be the very best they can be. But if the time comes and they’re falling short, then we need to reconsider their position.”

He added that he had no personal animosity towards any of Labour’s former leaders.

Labour’s leadership contest is underway and the winner will be announced in September this year after an election conducted on a one-member, one-vote basis.

The frontrunners for the position are currently Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall, according to hookies. Yvette Cooper and Mary Creagh are also running.