Andy Burnham has declared he will seek to become Labour leader and prime minister if he wins the Makerfield by-election on 18 June, an explicit challenge to Keir Starmer that triggered an immediate response from No 10.
Speaking on Thursday night's Question Time special, the Greater Manchester mayor said: “If I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest level.” He added, “I think Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running, I would seek to join it. But I’d have to persuade members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to do the same.”
“Andy Burnham confirms he will run for Labour leader if he wins the Makerfield by-election, challenging Keir Starmer.”
Starmer, who earlier this weekend told supporters he would fight any challenge, has hardened his position since Burnham's declaration. The prime minister believes a leadership contest could plunge the country into chaos and insists he will not walk away from the mandate he won two years ago. “The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and it has not been triggered. The Prime Minister will not walk away from the mandate he was given just two years ago to build a stronger, fairer Britain,” a No 10 spokesperson said before the programme had even finished.
The by-election is effectively a proxy war for the party’s future. Former health secretary Wes Streeting has confirmed he would enter any contest and is encouraging voters to back Burnham in Makerfield, wanting “a proper contest with the best candidates on the field”. But the manoeuvring has exposed deep internal rifts. On ITV's Peston, culture secretary Lisa Nandy clashed with Norwich South MP Clive Lewis when he claimed the party was “toxic” in the constituency. “You’ve never been. I live there,” Nandy said, accusing Lewis of “breathtaking arrogance” for talking about a community he had never visited. Lewis countered that he could “read, listen, speak to people”, but Nandy retorted: “You can’t listen if you haven’t been and spoken to anyone.”
Pressure on Starmer has intensified after Labour lost control of the Welsh Senedd and nearly 1,500 councillors in England in last month’s elections. Streeting and several junior ministers quit the government in the aftermath, and Burnham, seen as the frontrunner, set his sights on returning to Westminster via Makerfield.
Reform UK’s candidate, Robert Kenyon, struggled on the same Question Time panel. Confronted with his own historic comments about women’s rights, he admitted: “I hold my hands up, I’ve made mistakes.” He tried to pivot by attacking “career politicians” and contrasting Wigan with Burnham’s Manchester, saying “while Manchester thrives, we’re struggling to survive in Wigan”. But one audience member retorted: “I’d rather have a career politician than a plumber who’s a sexist.” Burnham criticised Nigel Farage’s response to the Henry Nowak case, saying the Reform leader’s appeal to “pure, cold rage” reminded him of US politics and should be avoided in Britain.
All eyes are now on 18 June. If Burnham wins, the Labour leadership contest he has all but launched will become a reality — and Starmer has made clear he intends to fight it.