Andy Burnham has given an update on speculation he will challenge Keir Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party.
Andy Burnham has given an update on speculation he will challenge Keir Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party.
Rumours have been swirling that the mayor is being lined up to take over as Prime Minister in the face of opinion polls putting Reform nine points ahead of Labour.
He fuelled the talk in a New Statesman interview published earlier this week by criticising the government’s approach, saying the party needs to find ‘our plan to turn the country around’.
Speculation intensified as Mr Burnham confirmed in a Telegraph interview on Wednesday (September 24) that he was approached by Labour MPs about succeeding Keir Starmer over the summer.
But the morning after the interview, the mayor has clarified his comments and said he is ‘ready to support the Prime Minister and the government’.
“I was asked a direct question by a journalist and I gave and gave an honest answer,” he told BBC Radio Manchester. “That has been reported today.
“MPs were in touch with me, but let me also give an honest explanation of what I said to those MPs. It’s not up to me. It’s not my decision. That’s a matter for you and the party in Parliament.”
While he said he has ‘no intention of abandoning what we are trying to build’ in Greater Manchester, he also re-iterated the government’s approach to winning over voters.
“We need a proper plan for the country and a proper plan to beat Reform,” he told listeners. “That’s the issue you have to get into. It’s the issue Labour Conference should be completely focused on.
“That’s where we are this morning. I did say in the interview that I am ready to support the Prime Minister and the government in getting that plan.”
Mr Burnham said he will limit public appearances at the party’s conference, to be held in Liverpool from Sunday, in an effort to avoid stepping on the cabinet’s toes as party bosses try to reset the government following Angela Rayner’s resignation and a major ministerial reshuffle.
It was thought the headline announcement in Keir Starmer’s speech would be an official announcement that a new Liverpool-Manchester railway line, stopping via Warrington and Manchester Airport, will go ahead.
However, reports suggest the announcement has been delayed beyond conference, something the mayor called ‘not the plan we need’.
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