The Labour leadership will block any attempt by Andy Burnham to enter Westminster after he launched a string of attacks against Sir Keir Starmer, senior insiders have said.
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.
Burnham’s shadow has loomed large over the party’s annual get together. The self-styled King of the North has been ever-present during the conference, with him choosing to appear at no fewer than nine events and support for the Manchester mayor remains high among the party rank and file.
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”.
He urged Starmer to “tell a story about this country”, adding: “Where do we want this country to go? And while the Government has done good things, I don’t think it has come together yet as that kind of powerful story about the future of Britain.”
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 did insist that he was not able to stand as leader, adding that he is not in Parliament but when asked whether he would see out his full term as mayor, he replied: “I cannot predict the future”, before adding: “You would have to wrench me out of Manchester.”
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.
His ongoing comments have been viewed by his Labour colleagues as a naked attempt to pitch himself as a potential alternative to Starmer, with allies of the former Cabinet minister admitting that he sees elections next May as an opportunity to challenge the Prime Minister.
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).
A Cabinet minister rejected any chance of Burnham challenging the Prime Minister, telling The i Paper: “What is the route to him succeeding? First he has to find a seat, and no one wants to give him one. The NEC will just block his selection. Even if they didn’t, he then has to win a by-election and there is no guarantee of that given the state of the polls and everyone will want to give him a kicking, and then he has to try and unseat Keir.
“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)The party executive is controlled by Starmer loyalists and insiders have said that Burnham’s previous commitment to see out his whole term as Greater Manchester Mayor will be held against him.
One Labour MP said there is “no possible route for him to get in”.
“The NEC will block any attempt by him to get a seat. The party won’t want a by-election right now, plus the executive will have a very good reason not to let him stand because it will also mean we will have to have a mayoral by-election. He committed to the mayoralty for its full term.
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.”
In a sign of the party leadership’s views of Burnham’s positioning, Chancellor Rachel Reeves chose to use her keynote speech to conference to make a barely veiled dig at the mayor’s criticism of the Government being too “in hock” to the bond markets.
“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.
Even those close to Burnham have questioned his decision to engage in leadership manoeuvres after just 15 months of a Labour government and while he is outside of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).
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.”
Another close source added that his stubbornness could end up working against him. “Andy’s an old friend of mine but no one can advise Andy what to do. Andy’s weaknesses is that he’s a one man band.”
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.
“I can’t see an NEC stitch-up against Andy, it would be such an admission of weakness from No 10,” a Labour MP said.
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.
While no seats are currently open to Burnham, his team have identified both Andrew Gwynne in Gorton and Denton and Marie Rimmer in St Helens South and Whiston as potentially giving up their seats for him.
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”.
During a meeting on the fringes of the conference on the topic of voting reform, Burnham delivered a stump speech that was regarded by Labour MPs inside the room as a naked leadership pitch, with one claiming it looked like a “leadership hustings”.
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.
He added: “I’m speaking out for millions of good people around Britain who want a more hopeful direction for the country. I think we can do it. I honestly believe it can be done. We can make this government work … and we can win again at the next general election.”
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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While MPs have been quick to criticise Burnham for his actions in the past week, there is an acknowledgement that there would be no space for such leadership posturing if the Government was succeeding.
As one Labour insider said, Burnham’s mudslinging from the sidelines could actually have a galvanising effect on the Government.
“Andy has done us all a favour. Because until now we’ve not really had much opposition, and so Reform have sort of filled the vacuum. And now we’ve got some internal opposition – it helps focus everyone.”
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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