Andy Burnham has for the first time confirmed he would seek to become Labour leader and prime minister if he wins the Makerfield by-election, prompting a defiant response from Keir Starmer that he will fight any contest.
The Greater Manchester mayor’s declaration came on Thursday’s Question Time special on the BBC. “I think Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running, I would seek to join it,” Burnham said. “But I’d have to persuade members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to do the same.”
“Andy Burnham says he will run for Labour leader and PM if he wins Makerfield, prompting Starmer to vow to fight any contest.”
The comments triggered a swift reaction from Number 10 before the programme had even ended. “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 spokesperson said.
According to the BBC, Starmer’s position hardened after Burnham’s remarks, with the prime minister telling supporters he would stand in any leadership contest. Until now, Starmer and his allies had insisted he would not walk away if a contest was triggered, but there was a question mark over whether he would fight.
The prime minister, who still believes a leadership contest could plunge the country into chaos, said he had won a massive majority two years ago and a mandate he was determined to deliver. As sitting leader he would automatically be on the ballot for Labour Party members.
The by-election on 18 June is a must-win for Burnham to be able to stand in a leadership contest. The seat has become the focus of the party’s internal battle, with Labour MPs openly clashing over the implications.
On ITV’s Peston, culture secretary Lisa Nandy accused fellow Labour MP Clive Lewis of “breathtaking arrogance” after he claimed the party was “toxic” in Makerfield and only stood a chance because Burnham was the candidate. Lewis, the MP for Norwich South, admitted he had not visited the seat, prompting Nandy, who represents neighbouring Wigan, to retort: “You’ve never been. I live there.”
“You don’t know our community, you’ve never been, and there is a breathtaking arrogance to talking about what communities think and feel when you’ve never met a single one of them,” she said.
The tension comes after Labour suffered historically bad election results last month, losing control of the Welsh Senedd and nearly 1,500 councillors in England. Wes Streeting and a handful of junior ministers quit the government in the aftermath, while Burnham set his sights on returning to Westminster.
On Question Time, Burnham also criticised Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s response to the Henry Nowak case, saying his appeal to “pure, cold rage” reminded him of US politics and should be avoided in Britain.