Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Image source, BBC/Getty Images

Eurovision, the Olympics and Nicki Minaj were all talking points on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - but just one question is really being asked among politicos: will someone replace Keir Starmer as prime minister?

It is widely expected that if Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham returns to Parliament, he would trigger a leadership challenge - potentially placing him not just in Westminister, but in No 10.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who has been campaigning with Burnham, has insisted Starmer should not be replaced and says he has previously shown that he is "up for a fight".

She has also warned that Burnham faces a "tough fight" in the Makerfield by-election.

Josh Simons, who resigned as Makerfield's MP to make way for Burnham's run, told Kuenssberg that his constituency has the chance to be at the "heart of history" by sending the mayor to London with a big agenda.

A shadow leadership contest continues to sweep across the Labour Party and former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he would enter any potential race if the starting gun is fired.

Jess Phillips, who recently resigned as safeguarding minister, praised Streeting on the programme for his "bravery and boldness".

"There has to be a contest," Phillips told Kuenssberg, insisting Starmer should not run if one is held.

Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch argues it does not matter if it is Starmer or someone new is at the helm - she says the problem is the Labour Party itself.

We are pausing our live politics coverage for now. You can read all the latest developments in our story.

After an intense week in politics, there are likely to more developments ahead in the coming days and weeks.

Here's what to expect:

• Applications to stand for Labour in the Makerfield by-election are due by 13:00 BST on Monday

• A decision on who will represent the party on the ballot paper is expected on Thursday

• As for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he is expected at Tuesday's cabinet meeting and will go toe-to-toe with Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday
• We're still not sure when the other parties will hold their selections, but Reform, the Conservatives, the Greens and Restore Britain have all indicated that they will have a candidate in the by-election. We should hear more soon on that front
• Burnham has already been seen canvassing - we can expect to see more campaigning in the days ahead

Labour MP Neil Coyle says the way some of his colleagues have been behaving has been "embarrassing" following heavy election losses.

He tells BBC London that MPs have "wet the bed" and gone into panic mode.

The Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP calls for Labour MPs to calm down and focus on the job. He says they need to communicate better and deliver faster to improve the country.

Coyle says that the idea that another Labour politician can come in and things will suddenly be different is "nonsense".

He says Labour needs to "wake up to the fact there is no silver bullet here", adding that there should not be a leadership contest right now.

"I don't think 'vote Andy Burnham for weak pound' is a good slogan," he says.

Image source, Jeff Overs/BBC

We heard a lot on this week's show, as Labour faces down the barrel of a possible leadership contest.

Here's what you need to know:

Fundamental change: Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy tells Kuenssberg that she understands frustrated voters are seeking a "fundamental change" following Labour's bruising defeat in elections earlier this month.

Should Starmer go?: Nandy says no. She says that she would have stepped down from her position in cabinet if she felt the PM's leadership was untenable.

Fights ahead: Nandy adds it is a "personal decision" on the PM's part on whether he would run for leadership again if a contest is triggered - but adds he's previously shown "he is up for a fight". Asked about Burnham's bid for Makerfield, Nandy says he faces a "tough fight" but supports his campaign.

No bearing: Tory leader Kemi Badenoch took the hot seat for the first time since the Tory's own election losses. She says that "what happens at local elections has no bearing on what happens at general elections".

Advice for the PM?: With the Conservative Party's recent history of quick leadership changes, Kuenssberg asks Badenoch if she has any advice for Starmer. The Tory leader responds that the Labour Party itself is the problem.

Tough choices: Josh Simons, who resigned as Makerfield MP to make way for Burnham, says it was a tough decision that he made alongside his family. Kuenssberg presses him on if he stepped away for political reasons - but Simons says he wouldn't have made the choice if it wasn't in the best interests of residents there.

A little earlier we heard from Josh Simons, who has resigned as Makerfield MP to give Andy Burnham the opportunity to try and return to Westminster.

He was quizzed by Laura Kuenssberg about why he has stepped back after two years for political reasons.

In response, Simons says that doing things for your community and country that are not in your own interests is the "kind of thing we should do in politics".

Simons says he made the decision to step aside two days ago and that it has been a really tough decision for him and his family.

He adds that he would not have made the decision if it was not in the best interests for the Labour Party, the Makerfield community and the country.

Simons says it provides the chance for the people of Makerfield to be at the "heart of history" and change the Labour Party for good by sending someone down to Westminster with a big agenda.

He says things have been "incredibly fast" and that the decision was not about cutting deals.

Ending the interview on a lighter note, Kuenssberg asks Badenoch how she feels about pop star Nicki Minaj supporting her leadership and asks who Badenoch would want to portray her if a film was made about her time as Conservative leader.

Minaj shared a clip of Badenoch earlier this week, writing: "The UK is truly one of a kind. They will portray her in film & TV one day... just like they did with Margaret Thatcher."

Badenoch responds: "I think it's flattering that Nicki Minaj is saying that."

Kuenssberg asks which Minaj song she prefers - "I do like her song Starships", Badenoch says.

That concludes their interview - we'll shortly bring you a quick recap of what we heard this week.

Kuenssberg asks Badenoch if Labour or Reform are a bigger threat to the Conservatives.

"Everyone is an opponent," she says, adding that multi party politics means that every party is a threat.

She is asked who she would prefer to win the Makerfield by-election.

Badenoch responds by saying it won't make much of a difference in the long term and that the problem is the Labour party - whether it is Andy Burnham or Keir Starmer at the helm.

She says that Makerfield "is about a Labour crisis, not a national crisis" and that nothing is going to change for the next three years regardless.

She says a party with a plan is needed.

This week's programme has now ended. We still have some top lines from Kemi Badenoch and the panel to bring you, so stay with us.

Given the Conservative Party's recent history of frequent leader changes, Badenoch is asked whether she has any advice for Starmer?

"We were focused on internal dramas," she responds.

Responding to Kuenssberg, Badenoch says the Labour Party itself is the problem, not Streeting and not Burnham.

Image source, BBC/Jeff Overs

Badenoch says "what happens at local elections has no bearing on what happens at general elections".

She dismisses a question from Kuenssberg on whether the Conservatives were in trouble after losing seats.

"Let's stop talking about elections and start talking about the problems the country is facing."

Kuenssberg responds saying it "sounds like you are dismissing the votes of millions of people last week".

"What I'm doing is challenging your analysis," Badenoch says, arguing "even in a good time" for Conservatives they lose council seats.

Badenoch continues saying the King's speech had no plans and that people are worried about what government was doing on key issues.

"I'm not dismissing local elections ... there is still a long way to go" Badenoch says, "I'm not going to say job done".

We're now hearing from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. She says there are signs the public are more convinced by the Conservatives, but the Tories lost more than 500 council seats in the local elections.

Badenoch says that the Conservatives have moved forward since last year and that the public is still very frustrated and voting for protest parties.

She says the country is not being governed because Labour do not have a plan and adds that politics is too focused on personality.

She says people are not hearing a plan from Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham but only hearing how popular they are.

Phillips praises Wes Streeting, saying he "stepped up and he got the right people to do the right thing" when it came to creating policies for violence against women.

"I actually found him very forthcoming, but what I see from Wes is bravery and boldness."

Kuenssberg asks Phillips two yes or no questions: should there be a leadership contest, and should Starmer run if one is held?

"Yes there has to be a contest," Phillips responds, but "in my opinion no", Starmer should not run.

Her appearance on the show then ends.

Kuenssberg then goes to former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.

Phillips says she did not hear a strong message from Keir Starmer as he responded to the heavy election losses on Monday.

She says that resigning was one way to push for bold change.

Kuenssberg asks Phillips about Starmer's approach to dealing with women and children's issues.

The former minister describes Starmer as "timid" and says she was frustrated trying to push through changes to prevent children from sharing intimate photos online.

She says she thinks PM wants to stop child abuse, but the willingness to have an argument with tech companies "just was not there".

"Can you guarantee the government isn't going to grind to a halt while you sort this out," asks Kuenssberg.

"Yes, I can" responds Nandy, adding that she has been having on-going conversations with ministers.

"We are getting on with the job, we have heard the message about change and urgency" she says, referencing local election results.

Turning to the BBC's new Director General Matt Brittin, Kuenssberg asks how big of a job he has.

"Enormous" says Nandy.

With that, her appearance ends.

Nandy describes Wes Streeting's call for the UK to re-enter the EU as "a bit odd".

"I know that he's got a strong view" that we shouldn't have left the EU, she says, adding that's "one I agree with".

But she says she "really understand why the sudden focus on Europe".

Kuennsberg asks if Nandy would consider a bid for the leadership, since she ran to be leader in 2019, The culture secretary says she said at the time: "never again".

She adds that Starmer won the contest and it is owed to him to pull it together as a team.

Kuenssberg asks Nandy whether a decision has been made on whether Keir Starmer has to leave his role.

Nandy says it is not her decision to make and she can't speak for the prime minister, Andy Burnham, or Wes Streeting.

But she says she can speak for people in towns like Wigan "who want to see us getting on with the job".

Kuenssberg adds that some people are furious with Streeting and Burnham for triggering a shadow leadership battle. As a reminder, a leadership challenge has not been formally triggered.

Nandy says it would be better if Labour showed the country that it was furious with a system that has not delivered.

She is then asked whether Burnham running in Makerfield is a massive gamble.

Nandy says it is a "tough fight, no question about it".

She says Burnham is running in a borough he has always called home "in order to show we can be different and can create that change".

Nandy is asked if Starmer should run if a leadership election is triggered.

"Its a very personal decision" responds Nandy, adding she has spoken to the PM last week and he himself "has shown he is up for a fight".

She adds that Starmer took up leadership of the Labour party when people said he wouldn't win. "He did. I watched it unfold", she says.

Cabinet and the Labour movement need to make sure the party wins the by-election, she says.

Kuenssberg asks if Starmer should be replaced as prime minister. Nandy responds with a categorical “no”.

She says if she thought so, "I wouldn’t be in this cabinet … I think we were elected to bring an end to the chaos".

Nandy adds that the message from people is that they want Labour to fight harder and louder for them.

She added that Starmer "acknowledges and accepts that" and that she hopes they will come out of the current situation more united.

Kuenssberg moves on to speak to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.

After reading emails her show has received from the public, Kuenssberg asks if it is "totally mad" to get rid of the PM after two years.

Nandy says a lot of viewers would be forgiven for being frustrated with what has unfolded.

She says she has been canvassing and people have been signalling loud and clear that they want more "fundamental" change in their lives.

Nandy adds that this is the moment for Labour to convince people "we can deliver the promise to deliver change we said two years ago".

Simons says the party should "unite" behind Burnham.

"If Andy wins the by-election, my view is that the different bits of the party should come together" behind him, he says.

Kuenssberg asks if that then means the end of Starmer.

"By implication, yeah," Simons responds.

Kunessberg then turns to Jo Coburn, asking for her take. She says that Starmer promised competence, but hasn't done well enough to convince voters that he can last until the end of his term.