Keir Starmer says he will lead Labour into the next general election Beth Rigby analysis

Well, what's happened over the last few days is that we've pulled together as a party and been absolutely crystal clear about the fight we need to have. And that's the fight on behalf of all the people in this country who don't get the respect, the dignity and the chance that they deserve in life. That is the fight that we are in. That's who we're fighting for. I'm their Prime Minister and this is their government. And what the last few days have shown is that that is absolutely the focus of this government. And we need to change in the sense of going out there and making that argument over and over again. Not talking internally to ourselves, which caused chaos under the last government. Talking to the country and making it absolutely clear we're elected on a mandate for change, a five-year mandate. It is our duty to deliver on that mandate. It sounds like this political near-death experience has really fired you up. I'm absolutely clear about what I stand for, who I'm standing for and what I'm fighting for. And we are in a perilous world internationally and we have to stand tall on the international stage. That has implications back in this country. But we also need to remember and never forget that whatever the political discussions in Westminster, for most people across the country, in this community centre, it's the cost of living, making ends meet, whether they can get on in life, whether public services are working. That's what matters most. I'm absolutely up for that fight. I'm not walking away from that fight. Are you going to patch things up with Anas Sarwar? He tried to take you out yesterday. You want him to be First Minister of Scotland. It's a mess, isn't it? I've got a huge respect for Anas Sarwar. Obviously he made his views known yesterday. But I want to be really clear that I'm 100% supportive of Anas Sarwar to be the First Minister in Scotland. He'd be an incredible First Minister and I support him 100% without reservation. Will you lead the Labour Party into the next general election? Yes, I will. I had a five-year mandate to deliver the change. I intend to get on with what I was elected to do, which is deliver that change. I'm really pleased that we've got a united cabinet behind me in that fight. We need to concentrate on bringing about that change because for millions of people who are being held back by this system that we're in, they need us to be fighting for them and that is what we're doing. Your Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, seems to do what he wants. He's published these texts between him and Lord Mandelson that include criticism of your government. Are you tempted to sack him? The issue of texts, messages and all information that's being gathered as a result of the Humble Petition, Humble Address last week, that needs to be a managed process both in government and obviously there's a police element to it. We need to do it in that managed way so that the right information is released. We need to be totally transparent. That's what Parliament wants. Have you told him to wind his neck? It wasn't managed, was it? He just acted unilaterally. I do think that we all need to ensure that we're all acting together in this because all the information needs to be pulled together. We owe it to Parliament to be totally transparent about it. We need to liaise with Parliament and with the police to make sure we get the process right. And you've got an economic strategy, to be clear, because he was suggesting in the text that there wasn't one. Let me be very clear about the economy and Rachel Reeves, our Chancellor, because she is turning the economy around. And what we now see is six interest rate cuts in a row. That is the fastest cut in interest rates since the 2008 crash. Significant achievement because of the stability that she has brought. We've got inflation predicted to come down to target, hugely important for the economy, and business confidence is turning a corner. All of the indications are the same. Now we have to nurture that. We have to make sure that this is for real and it's felt in people's pockets, but it's a tribute to the hard work of Rachel Reeves as the Chancellor that we're now in that position where the economy is beginning to show those signs of turning in the way we need for the country. Prime Minister, thank you. Thank you. Well, let's bring in our political editor, Beth Rigby. Beth, what do you make of the message that the Prime Minister is setting out today? Well, Jane, that's a Prime Minister that, as the interview was saying, had a near-death experience yesterday. It was really unclear in the middle of the day whether Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader's decision to call for Keir Starmer's resignation, was going to set off a load of dominoes that meant the House of Starmer fell, if you like, with Cabinet Ministers potentially coming out not to voice for support for him. In the end, that did not happen. The Cabinet rode in behind him. He went to the Parliamentary Labour Party last night and he appealed to his MPs to stick with him. And I think we saw a version of that speech to the MPs on camera there. What did Keir Starmer, what did he say? The first thing he said is he asked the party to stop fighting amongst itself. He basically said the fight we are in and who we are fighting for are the people of this country, the people in this country who don't get the respect, the dignity and the chance they deserve in life. He then went on to say we were elected for a five-year mandate and it's our duty to deliver the mandate. So that was the first message. The second message, quite clearly there, is the Prime Minister saying, I am not walking away, I am going to fight on. He said I'm absolutely clear what I stand for, who I'm fighting for, what I'm fighting for. That's what matters the most. I'm up for that fight. I am not walking away from that fight. And that is the message that he gave to parliamentarians last night. He said I will fight with every breath in my body. I will fight until I have no breath left. The third thing in that statement or that Q&A was he was asked about Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, and he was very flattering about Sarwar. He said he was 100% supportive of Anas Sarwar as the First Minister, wanting him to become the First Minister in Scotland and he says I support him 100% without reservation. So despite Anas Sarwar going over the top and calling for Starmer's resignation, Keir Starmer does not want to create any more waves there. He was then asked whether he will stay on for five years, or sorry, stay on until the next general election and he said yes. He also acknowledged that his cabinet had united behind him in the fight. The last bit about that exchange was about Wes Streeting and the WhatsApps he gave to us exclusively on Sky News yesterday in an interview I did with him for the Electoral Dysfunction podcast. And the Prime Minister was there, was saying, asked there whether he was going to sack Wes Streeting for releasing these WhatsApp messages unilaterally. Subsequently, the Met Police have put out a statement asking ministers, or warning them rather, not to publish messages, arguing it could compromise the investigation. But again, the Prime Minister did not bite on this. He just said that the information should be managed in a way so the right information is released. We need to be totally transparent. But he did not take aim at Wes Streeting at all. What does that tell you? It reflects what a weak position he is in. He's had a direct challenge from Anas Sarwar. Wes Streeting has gone rogue, if you like, and unilaterally decided to release those WhatsApps in his argument to try and clear his name amid rumours about what might have been going on privately, said privately, between Mandelson and Streeting. He wanted to clear that up. And on both these matters, the Prime Minister does not want to get into a row with anyone. He has just come through the most perilous moment of his premiership, and he's determined to press on. And for now, things do seem to be calm. As I said yesterday, it was his Cabinet that saved him. That decision to row him behind him really meant that he did not, in that perilous moment, have to face a leadership challenge or indeed have to resign. And what you're seeing now is a Prime Minister signalling he's determined to go on.