Speculation about Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership has grown after Andy Burnham, seen as a likely replacement, refused to rule out a return to Westminster. Mr Burnham is a former Labour MP who left Parliament in 2017 to become mayor of Greater Manchester. He would need to return to the House of Commons to stand for the party leadership.
But he has now made it clear he could become an MP again, telling BBC Radio Manchester: “I have never ruled out going back to Westminster.” He said: “And obviously, I do watch what is going on down there.” Colleagues have insisted he has no intention of challenging Sir Keir. However Mr Burnham told a mayoral event that he believed Labour needed change.
He said: “Personally, I think Labour needs quite a bit of change, in the way it is running things internally as well as other changes, I’m going to be honest and say that. I’m one of those voices.”
But the mayor also said he wanted to support the government, saying: “If I could play a role to support the Government then I would.”
Sir Keir is facing anger from MPs over policies such as restrictions to winter fuel payments and disability benefits, both scrapped following opposition, and the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
Today the Prime Minister received advice from former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, who warned: “Trust in the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) has frayed”.
Advising the Prime Minister to rebuild relations with his MPs, Mr Watson suggested: “Hold small, closed-door meetings by region, with no more than ten MPs in each group. You speak last. Each session ends with one promise you can deliver inside a fortnight. Keep a log and report back.”
And he also suggested Sir Keir should rethink the way he carries out reshuffles – following complaints that some former front benchers had been sacked without being given a reason.
Writing on Substack, Mr Watson said: “Adopt a squad rotation approach so people know they can come back to government once they have been moved. On future reshuffles commit to a different approach. You sack everyone and you appoint everyone. You explain why you are moving people on and why you are moving people in. Name the criteria for success in advance.”