On paper, Andy Burnham appeared to dampen down speculation about his own leadership ambition when he joined colleagues in backing Keir Starmer and stressed the need for unity on Tuesday.
But in reality the Mayor of Manchester’s “support” came with a warning to the Prime Minister – that if he is to continue in the role, he must move leftwards politically in order to retain the shaky support of his MPs and ministers.
Speaking at an event in central London, Burnham gave the impression of a man whose eyes are still very much fixed on the top job but who knows he must now wait.
He cannot challenge the PM unless he is a sitting MP himself – and Starmer’s team and allies in the party’s governing body have made it clear they are not prepared to allow this any time soon by blocking his attempt to stand in the up-coming Gorton and Denton by-election.
Burnham’s own leadership pitch?
So what can he do in the meantime? During his speech at the Resolution Foundation event Burnham said Starmer “has my support” but he implied this was conditional on the Prime Minister heeding calls from some in his party for a more radical and left-wing agenda.
The Manchester Mayor added there should be more focus on the cost of living and less on wealth and hailed the value of public ownership. He also argued for a more radical approach to building social housing and pressed the importance of public ownership and control.
If Labour wins the by-election, Burnham hinted, it would be down to his own work as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
And, as he told the audience he supported electoral reform, an overhaul of the House of Lords, changes to the party whipping system to give MPs more freedom and a more inclusive leadership approach, it seemed like he was soft-launching his own leadership campaign and policy platform.
“Here is what you could have, if this current leadership fails”, was the implied message.
Starmer must be ‘more inclusive’
Burnham seemed to blame Starmer himself for the lack of unity and stability in the party. “Of course stability comes from greater unity and that would be helped by a more inclusive way of running the party,” he said.
And there may have been some raised eyebrows from his colleagues in Westminster when he the party must pull together and stop briefing to the press.
And pointedly, he refused to say whether he would rule out another attempt at becoming leader.
In black and white, the speech was a public display of support for the government and allegiance to Starmer after the PM survived perhaps the most precarious day of his leadership so far.
But between the lines its clear that the threat from the Manchester Mayor still stands – and far from remaining in the background – he is prepared to make public demands for his continued show of loyalty.
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