Mayor Andy Burnham of Greater Manchester has said it's up to Labour MPs to determine whether the party needs a change of leadership, after being asked about his own political aspirations. He told the BBC that he'd given honest answers to questions raised by Labour MPs who had been urging him to confront Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in private. The mayor said that Labour MPs hadn't been in touch with him to discuss the leadership, and he denied being involved in a "personality contest."
The Labour government's third-term mayor said the Labour administration needed a better strategy for the UK, including one to defeat Reform UK, and that he was there to assist the Prime Minister "in establishing new policies."
Burnham isn't an MP. He would need to win a by-election and then resign as mayor before he could challenge Sir Keir as Labour leader Tony Burke. However, no by-elections are currently scheduled, and there's no guarantee he would be selected as a candidate if the opportunity arose.
Burnham's Recent Statements
During a phone-in on BBC Radio Manchester on Thursday, Burnham answered questions about the rampant rumours concerning his future. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Burnham was asked about the likelihood of him returning to Westminster and mounting a leadership challenge.
"People have contacted me throughout the summer - yeah," Burnham said when asked if MPs had urged him to run for the top job.
Burnham was also asked on BBC Radio Manchester if a bid for the leadership would be the biggest gamble of his political career.
"I've somehow been pulled into it whenever Westminster has come to a point," he said in response. "People have been getting in touch with me," he added. "And, of course, I've told them that it isn't a problem for me. It's ultimately up to the party in Westminster to decide. I'm here to help the party in whatever way I can."
Criticism and Context
According to the Housing Minister, Burnham had the right to "make his case," but he pointed out that the mayor had previously promised to serve a full term. The Housing Minister dismissed the Labour Party's leadership as "tittle tattle," and suggested Burnham may have been "firing potshots" at the Prime Minister. The minister added that Sir Keir had "picked this party up off the floor and led us to a historic general election win," and that "our job now is to tell the world, not ourselves, how we can change the things they care about."
Burnham, a former culture and health minister who has tried and failed twice to become Labour leader when he was an MP, has also been criticised by his opponents. Burnham lost out to Ed Miliband in 2010 and to Jeremy Corbyn in 2015. He came fourth in 2010 and second in 2015, losing by a large margin to Corbyn, who took home nearly 60% of the vote.
Burnham's latest interview comes ahead of Labour's autumn conference and after Sir Keir has come under pressure from some MPs following his deputy Angela Rayner's departure and his dismissal of Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the United States. Some MPs have expressed dissatisfaction with the government's performance and the rise of Reform in national opinion polls. The mayor also told the Telegraph that Number 10 had created a "climate of fear" among some MPs.
Burnham called for a higher council levy on expensive homes in London and the South East, income tax cuts for lower earners, and a 50p interest rate for the highest paid. The comments in the Telegraph came after his interview with the New Statesman, which was seen as a call for a Labour leadership bid. In the interview, he criticised the Prime Minister's approach, saying that if you want to see an "existential threat to Labour, it must be fully changed to get a new..."
Burnham outlined his vision for the country, describing his views as "aspirational socialism." One of his main policy goals was more public control of housing, oil, water, and rail. Taking buses back into public ownership was one of Burnham's most popular initiatives as mayor of Greater Manchester. Burnham told the New Statesman he was willing to collaborate with anyone with a "plan to turn the world around" - including Liberal Democrats and Corbyn, who is in the process of establishing a new left-wing party.
Response from Labour MPs
Callum Anderson, a Labour MP, accused Burnham of "wishful thinking" on economic policy, arguing that the government must "get beyond this notion of being in hock to the bond markets." Anderson, a cabinet minister, wrote on X:
"You can't just ignore the bond markets; you can't lead a Labour government and a Labour Treasury. Every pound invested on schools, hospitals, and infrastructure is tied to the UK's credibility. Real change requires financial discipline, not wishful thinking."
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