Alex Burghart has said he “feels very sorry for the King” as the state opening of Parliment is mired in Keir Starmer’s leadership crisis.
The Conservative Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster was speaking to GB News just hours before the monarch is due to deliver the speech setting out the Government’s legislative agenda.
Sir Keir is facing calls to step down after devastating local election losses, with at least 83 Labour backbenchers bidding him to go.
Ahead of the King’s Speech, the Prime Minister held showdown talks with Health Secretary Wes Streeting, considered a frontrunner to succeed him.
“The King hasn't been politicised, but it's clearly very worrying,” Mr Burghart said, admonishing the political chaos around the key moment in the Parliamentary calendar.
He expressed concern over the “potential for the King to be embarrassed” amid the Labour Party infighting.
“The King is being brought here by the Prime Minister today to give a speech about the agenda for the next year or two.
“But we don't even know if the Prime Minister will be here for the next day or two.
Alex Burghart has he 'feels very sorry for the King' as the Monarch's speech is mired in Keir Starmer's leadership crisis
|GB NEWS
“I really think the Government should have thought twice about doing this, given the state that the Labour Party is in.”
Mr Burghart added grimly: “I feel very sorry for the King.”
To that end, the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said he found the current crisis was “just very depressing”.
“I know you're sort of supposed to take delight in your opponent's misfortune, but I just don't think this is very good for the country.
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| GETTY“Uncertainty is terrible and terrible for Britain, and the Labour Party have got to sort it out,” he said.
As such, Mr Burghart bid Labour to depose Sir Keir and move on.
“I'm afraid that means they're going to have to get rid of the Prime Minister very quickly and replace them with someone else.”
However, the top Tory expressed concern that the potential replacements for No10 would not fare much better.
Sir Keir is holding onto power following bruising local election results
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Alongside Mr Streeting, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is considered the most likely candidate to succeed Sir Keir.
“The problem is, of course, that the alternative potential Prime Ministers don't appear to have a clue about what they will do either.
“They don't appear to have a clue about how they will fix the deep problems that the country faces,” Mr Burghart said.
The Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster then promoted the Conservatives' alternative King’s Speech, which sets out the Opposition's hypothetical legislative agenda.
“We don't care if the Labour Party want to use it, that's fine. It'll be for the good of the country. But I'm afraid I don't think they will.
I think they're caught in their own civil war, and this is just going to run and run,” Mr Burghart despaired.