The Greater Manchester Mayor renewed his criticism of the Prime Minister’s leadership of the party at the Labour conference in Liverpool, accusing Downing Street of presiding over a “climate of fear” and strangling “open debate” within the party.
Speaking at an event on the fringes of the conference on Monday, he reopened hostilities with the No 10, calling for the leadership to put more “big ideas on the table” as he criticised there being “too much of a narrow, factional way of running the party”.
Burnham claimed that comments he made to the Daily Telegraph last week suggesting MPs were urging him to stand as leader were “overwritten and inaccurate”, but he refused to deny that he had been privately approached by Labour members of parliament.
He also urged Rachel Reeves to consider a type of land value taxation to hit the wealthiest land owners, as well as a revaluation of council tax, while saying now was not the time to introduce digital ID.
No route back for Burnham
But senior Labour figures have insisted there will be no route back into Westminster for the Manchester mayor, with any attempt by Burnham to stand as an MP likely to be blocked by Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
“I think what he’s doing is nuts. He’s launching a leadership bid for a job that doesn’t exist. I don’t understand what he’s doing,” this minister added.
Andy Burnham poses for a photograph with baby Rhys and mum Kieran in Liverpool (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)One Labour MP said there is “no possible route for him to get in”.
The MP added: “Who would we get in that has the same presence and could win a by-election for the mayoralty? The chance to stand for Westminster was July 2024, and he chose not to.”
“Even now, with a global uncertainty that we have seen, ripple through financial markets, there are still critics out there who are too readily forget the consequences of reckless economic choices,” she told members.
One ally told The i Paper: “I love Andy, he is doing a great job [as mayor]. I just wonder if what he’s been doing recently is helpful. Perhaps he should, you know, just stop it. Remember, he’s already run for leader twice – if he tried to go for it again and failed, that’s the end of his career.”
But some inside Labour have warned that any bid to block Burnham’s return to Westminster would be viewed as a cowardly move from Downing Street, and could set the party leadership against the wider membership.
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester speaks at a fringe meeting during the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool (REUTERS/Phil Noble)
According to insiders in Burnham’s camp, there is a belief that any attempt to prevent him from standing as an MP would spark a “bonfire” among the party membership. Should ally Lucy Powell secure the deputy leadership, she will also be guaranteed a seat in the NEC and could ease Burnham’s return into Westminster.
For his part, he has repeatedly insisted he is supporting the Starmer Government with his comments, adding that his intention is merely to stimulate a “debate about the direction of the party”.
Burnham: ‘I’m speaking for millions’
Burnham acknowledged that people have claimed he is “speaking out purely for my own ambition”, but he insisted he was speaking for the Labour councillors, Welsh assembly members and members of the Scottish Parliament, who face elections next May.
The comments drew a standing ovation from the members inside the room.
square ANDREW FISHER Andy Burnham is right about a culture of fear in the Labour Party
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As one Labour insider said, Burnham’s mudslinging from the sidelines could actually have a galvanising effect on the Government.
But unless Starmer starts to show some improvements, he should expect the calls for a “Prince Burnham over the water” to return will only grow louder.
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