Andy Burnham has fuelled Labour leadership rumours by refusing to commit to serving a full term as Greater Manchester Mayor.
The former minister failed to quash speculation about his plans in an interview as Keir Starmer struggles to stabilise the government.
Mr. Burnham emphasized his strong intention to stay in his current position until the elections in May 2028. However, he confessed uncertainty about whether he would pursue becoming an MP again if a by-election were to occur in a Manchester seat.
The mayor indicated that any return would need to be in response to public demands for new leadership, mentioning on BBC local radio that he would not be actively pushing himself forward again. He had previously competed unsuccessfully against Jeremy Corbyn in 2015.
Recent signs of unrest against Sir Keir emerged alongside a poll showing Labour at its lowest ever support, at just 16 percent. The Find Out Now research placed Reform significantly ahead with 34 percent support, although this firm has typically found larger leads for Nigel Farage’s party than other polling organizations.
Andy Burnham failed to quash speculation about his plans in an interview as Keir Starmer struggles to stabilise the government
Mr Burnham has been the subject of frenzied interest amid the extraordinary meltdown at the heart of Downing Street.
Angela Rayner’s resignation two weeks ago was followed by a tumultuous reshuffle intended to reset the situation, which was quickly disrupted by controversy over Lord Mandelson.
MPs have been openly warning that Sir Keir could be ‘gone’ by May if local elections are as bad as feared.
There have been claims that allies of Ms Rayner are mooting a comeback on a ‘joint ticket’ with Mr Burnham.
When asked by BBC Radio Manchester about his involvement in the speculation, Mr. Burnham replied: ‘Westminster’s in flux, isn’t it… whenever Westminster’s in flux, I’m pulled in.’
Mr Burnham stressed he had never ruled out going back to the Commons. ‘I do watch what’s going on down there so I wouldn’t say not,’ he said.
He further commented: ‘What I want people to understand is that it wouldn’t be me just deciding to put myself out there again. It would have to come from a different direction, from others…’
Pressed if would fight a by-election in Greater Manchester if one came up, Mr Burnham said: ‘I honestly don’t know, it’s a hypothetical question.’
While stressing his intention of seeing out his full term as mayor, Mr Burnham said: ‘If events change, I’m not necessarily going to be stuck religiously in one way of thinking.’
MPs have been openly warning that Sir Keir (pictured) could be ‘gone’ by May if local elections are as bad as feared
Mr Burnham’s term as Greater Manchester mayor will last until 2028 and, if he wants to succeed Sir Keir as Labour leader, he would first need to become an MP.
But the deputy leader contest between Downing Street’s de facto candidate Bridget Phillipson and sacked Cabinet minister Lucy Powell is being seen as a ‘proxy war’.
Mr Burnham has praised Ms Powell, who earlier this week launched a brutal attack on Sir Keir’s ‘mistakes’ and ‘unforced errors’.
Ms Powell told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast: ‘Some of the mistakes that we’ve made, or some of the unforced errors, have given a sense that we’re not on the side of ordinary people.’
She was sacked in Sir Keir’s reshuffle this month, and said it may have been due to the ‘feedback’ she had given the Cabinet from Labour MPs on issues including welfare reform.
She said: ‘I thought I was doing the job I was supposed to be doing, but maybe that wasn’t feedback people wanted to hear.’
Freed from Cabinet collective responsibility, the ex-Commons Leader urged the Government to be ‘clearer’ about wanting to scrap the two-child benefit cap – a significant issue for many Labour backbenchers.
One Labour veteran told the Daily Mail that an alliance between Mr Burnham and Ms Rayner was ‘extremely unlikely’ to succeed.
‘She’s going to lose her seat apart form anything else,’ they said of the Ashton-under-Lyne MP. She won her seat with a 7,000-vote majority over Reform UK last year, but the polls have changed dramatically since then.
‘I don’t think there is anything like as much love for Burnham in the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) as he thinks.’
Angela Rayner pictured out campaigning with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham in March last year
Earlier this week Mr Burnham received support from a serving Cabinet minister to make a return to Westminster.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she ‘loves’ the Greater Manchester mayor and would support him ‘whatever he decides to do’.
Ms Nandy made the comments as she said she was supporting Lucy Powell, an ally of Mr Burnham, in the contest to replace Ms Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader.
She told LBC: ‘I love Andy, and whatever he decides to do, I’ll support him.
‘He’s been a fantastic champion for the North, and whether he wants to do that as the mayor of Greater Manchester or as an MP, I think he’s got an enormous contribution to make.’
