'I don't really care about this Politics Top Trumps that your show seems obsessed with,' the Housing Secretary fumed
Camilla Tominey clashed with Labour Housing Minister Steve Reed in a furious exchange after she accused him of “hypocrisy” over his support of Andy Burnham.
The Cabinet Minister, long considered a loyalist to Keir Starmer, staunchly defended his backing of the former Manchester Mayor, who is expected to replace the outgoing Prime Minister.
Launching her grilling, Camilla said: “You were staunchly in bat for Keir Starmer last month, telling everybody he's the best thing since sliced bread, and then in a matter of weeks... you're fully supporting Andy Burnham."
“The public must look at this and think it's absolutely ridiculous for you to spend most of May backing the Prime Minister.
“And now, seemingly, it's great that Andy Burnham has come down from Manchester and stabbed him in the back.
“Presumably, you, along with Rachel Reeves and others, are now lining yourselves up for a new job in a new cabinet."
Mr Reed insisted there was nothing inconsistent about his position.
He said: "We're going to elect a new leader who will become Prime Minister. Of the options available, I think Andy Burnham is the best option.
“Precisely what is the problem in supporting somebody until they resign? And then you have to support somebody else?
“You invited me to give you my opinion. I've given my opinion. You may not like my opinion, but that is my opinion."
The exchange became increasingly heated as Camilla questioned whether Mr Burnham had any democratic mandate to become Prime Minister without a general election.
“If Andy Burnham's so great, why don't you have a general election?” she asked.
Mr Reed replied: “We live in a parliamentary democracy. MPs choose the leader and Prime Minister.”
As the pair continued to spar, the Housing Secretary accused critics of obsessing over Westminster politics instead of Government policy.
“I don't really care about this Politics Top Trumps that your show seems obsessed with,” he said.
“I'm much more interested in the public and the change we can make for the public.”
Camilla then pushed Mr Reed on Labour “hypocrisy” following the resignation of Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss.
“Someone tweeted ‘hashtag general election now’. Guess who that was, Steve Reed. Andy Burnham.”
“Back then, I think the public wanted a general election we just had. We were placing our third Prime Minister in two months, and Liz Truss had crashed the economy,” Mr Reed hit back.
“They were in chaos. We are not. This is a smooth transition, and through it all, I'm going to keep focused, as we all are on the British public and delivering the change they want to see.”