Deputy leader calls for Burnham, Streeting and Rayner to be ‘key players’ for Labour ...Middle East

Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell will say Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be seen as “key players” in the party in a speech on Friday.

Powell will also repeat her support for Burnham’s efforts to return to Parliament after Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield, said he would stand aside to let the Greater Manchester mayor run for the seat in a by-election.

She will say she is confident Burnham will have the support of the “vast majority of the party and movement” to make a bid to come back to Westminster.

Powell was the only member of Labour’s ruling body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand in a by-election in Gorton and Denton earlier this year, but he was blocked from doing so and the Greens took the seat.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will not seek to block Burnham from standing this time around, it is understood, but it is not yet guaranteed that he will be chosen as the candidate.

Burnham eyes Westminster return – and Starmer won’t block him

Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership was under intense pressure as a Labour MP stood aside to allow Andy Burnham to attempt to return to Parliament and challenge the Prime Minister.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester said he wanted to return to Westminster to “make politics work properly for people” after Josh Simons, the Labour MP for Makerfield, said he would stand down so Burnham can “drive the change our country is crying out for”.

Sources said Starmer will not seek to block Burnham from becoming Labour’s candidate in the forthcoming by-election, but first the party’s National Executive Committee needs to give him the green light to stand when it meets next week.

Earlier on Thursday, Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary, while former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner revealed that she had been cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing over her tax affairs, clearing the path for a potential tilt at the top job.

Starmer has faced mounting calls to quit in the wake of Labour’s disastrous local election results last week, prompting speculation his critics within the Cabinet were prepared to tell him it was time to resign.

But by lunchtime on Thursday, only Streeting, who was later replaced by former chief secretary to the Treasury James Murray, had quit the Government.

However, in doing so, he had not – as some had expected – launched a leadership bid in the process, as he urged Starmer to allow the “best possible field of candidates” to run to replace him in Downing Street.

It is still unclear whether Streeting has the support of 81 Labour MPs as needed to launch a formal challenge against the Prime Minister.

Powell ‘confident’ Burnham will have support of majority in Labour

Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell will say Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be seen as “key players” in the party in a speech on Friday.

Powell will also repeat her support for Burnham’s efforts to return to Parliament after Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield, said he would stand aside to let the Greater Manchester mayor run for the seat in a by-election.

She will say she is confident Burnham will have the support of the “vast majority of the party and movement” to make a bid to come back to Westminster.

Powell was the only member of Labour’s ruling body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand in a by-election in Gorton and Denton earlier this year, but he was blocked from doing so and the Greens took the seat.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will not seek to block Burnham from standing this time around, it is understood, but it is not yet guaranteed that he will be chosen as the candidate.

Powell is expected to tell the Fire Brigades’ Union conference: “The election results last week were deeply painful and difficult for our party, and the aftermath has been unedifying for us all too.

“We don’t do hostile takeovers in Labour for a reason.

“Keir is the leader, and I warned against bloody internal battles reflecting badly.”

Good morning – and welcome back

Welcome back to The i Paper’s politics blog on Friday, 15 May.

Sir Keir Starmer has survived another day in Downing Street – but potential leadership rivals are circling.

Yesterday, former health secretary Wes Streeting resigned from his Cabinet role, and Labour MP Josh Simons stepped down as the MP for Makerfield, opening the door for the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham to run for a seat.

Starmer will not seek to block Burnham from standing this time around, it is understood, but it is not yet guaranteed that he will be chosen as the candidate for Labour.

First, the party’s National Executive Committee needs to give him the green light to stand when it meets next week.

We’ll have all the latest news and reaction from Westminster throughout the day.

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