Lennox970
Active Member
Sounds like Lebanon.
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thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Wes Streeting resigns as health secretary - his letter in full
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced his resignation from government.
www.bbc.com
Wes Streeting resigns as health secretary - his letter in full
Dear Prime Minister,
The results are in and I am pleased to report that I have delivered against the ambitious targets you set for me when I became your Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Today's figures confirm that we surpassed our waiting times target despite strikes, and that waiting lists fell by 110,000 in March - the biggest monthly drop outside of Covid since 2008 - meaning that we are on track to achieve the fastest improvement in NHS waiting times in history. The only question that matters in government is whether we leave our successors a better situation than we inherited. Ambulance response times for heart attacks and strokes are now the fastest in five years. A&E waiting times are improving, with four-hour waiting figures also the best in five years. We've recruited 2,000 more GPs and satisfaction has risen from 60 per cent to 74.5 per cent since we came to office. We hit our target of recruiting 8,500 mental health staff three years early. We've achieved this at the same as balancing the books for the first time in nine years and smashing the 2 per cent NHS productivity target by achieving 2.8 per cent, which means the investment we're putting in goes further and that the public can have greater confidence that their money is being well-spent. None of this would have been achieved without the brilliant leadership team of ministers, officials, and special advisers we have established in the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS - superbly led by Samantha Jones and Sir Jim Mackey, who has been a knight in shining armour and a brilliant leader of 1.5 million staff upon whom all this success depends. The National Health Service is the embodiment of all that is best about Britain and our values. Thanks to our Labour government, it is on the road to recovery: lots done, but so much more to do. These are all good reasons for me to remain in post, but as you know from our conversation earlier this week, having lost confidence in your leadership, I have concluded that it would be dishonourable and unprincipled to do so.
Last week's election results were unprecedented - both in terms of the scale of the defeat and the consequences of that failure. For the first time in our country's history, nationalists are in power in every corner of the United Kingdom - including a dangerous English nationalism represented by Nigel Farage and Reform UK. This represents both an existential threat to the future integrity of the United Kingdom, but Reform UK also represent a threat to the values and ideals that have made this country great. Progressives across our country understand this threat and our responsibility to confront it, but they are increasingly losing faith that the Labour Party is capable of rising to our historic responsibility of defeating racism and offering hope that Britain's best days lie ahead through social democracy. There is no doubt that the unpopularity of this Government was a major and common factor in our defeats across England, Scotland and Wales. Good Labour people lost through no fault of their own. There are many reasons we could point to: from individual mistakes on policy like the decision to cut the winter fuel allowance to the 'island of strangers' speech, all of which have left the country not knowing who we are or what we really stand for.
You have many great strengths that I admire. You led our party to a victory few thought possible in 2024 and I was proud to fight alongside you in the trenches of that campaign. You have shown courage and statesmanship on the world stage - not least in keeping Britain out of the war in Iran. But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. This was underscored by your speech on Monday. Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords. You also need to listen to your colleagues, including backbenchers, and the heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics.
As a member of your government, I know better than most that governing is hard. It should be, because it matters. There are enormous challenges facing this country. For the first time in our history the next generation faces a worse inheritance than the last. We have wars raging in Europe and the Middle East that are making our challenges harder, not easier. We are in the foothills of a technological industrial revolution that has huge implications for every aspect of our lives - not least the future of work. It is not clear whether democracy or tyranny will define the 21st century. After the financial crisis, austerity, the disaster of Brexit, Liz Truss, the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and now the war in Iran, the country needs to believe again that things can be better than this and that politics is part of the answer, not the source of the problem. These are big challenges that require a bold vision and bigger solutions than we are offering.
It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour Unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism. It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this.
Serving as your Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has been the greatest joy of my life and, regardless of our differences this week, I remain truly grateful to you for the opportunity to serve and I am deeply saddened to be leaving government in this way.
Yours sincerely,
The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
With Streeting's resignation, it is likely to trigger a Labour Party leadership revolt with Streeting as a likely candidate to replace Starmer. However insiders are suggesting Ed Milliband is likely to become the next PM if Streeting gets in the race.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Angela Rayner settles tax bill with HMRC
Rayner stood down as deputy prime minister in September 2025 after admitting underpaying stamp duty.
www.bbc.com
Angela Rayner settles tax bill with HMRC
Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has resolved her tax affairs with HMRC following an investigation, settling £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty. The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne said she had been "exonerated" of the accusation she had "deliberately sought to avoid tax" in a statement on Thursday.
Rayner stood down as deputy prime minister and housing secretary in September 2025 after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove.
Rayner is seen as a potential challenger to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, as he battles to save his premiership following a disastrous set of election results for the Labour Party last week.
However, the outstanding HMRC investigation was seen as an obstacle to her standing.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, the prime minister's former deputy did not rule out running in any Labour leadership race but said she would not "trigger" a contest.
She said: "I'll play my part in doing everything we possibly can to deliver the change, because it's not a personal ambition, I know the difference it makes."
Pressed over whether the prime minister should step aside, Rayner said: "Keir will have to reflect on that."
Rayner's announcement came just hours before Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from government, saying he had "lost confidence" in Sir Keir's leadership.
He has not yet triggered a leadership contest but his supporters previously told the BBC they expected him to challenge Sir Keir as soon as Thursday.
Streeting would need the support of 81 MPs to trigger a leadership contest under the Labour Party's rules.
The news about Rayner's tax affairs was first published by the Guardian newspaper and ITV News on Thursday morning.
Speaking to the Guardian about the tax saga that led to her resignation, Rayner said voters had been "left with the impression that I somehow tried to avoid – or worse had been reckless or careless – in my actions".
"Whereas now hopefully people can see that actually it's a really complex area of law," she said.
In her interview with ITV News journalist Paul Brand, Rayner said she welcomed the HMRC's conclusion that "there wasn't any wrongdoing and that I didn't try to avoid paying tax, and I wasn't careless in the way I conducted myself".
The BBC has seen an email from the tax authority to Rayner's lawyers which verifies that HMRC regards the matter as closed.
HMRC also spells out in the email that Rayner will not face a penalty charge.
A penalty is incurred if a tax error is "careless" or "deliberate".
At the time of her resignation, the prime minister's ethics adviser said Rayner "acted with integrity" but had breached the ministerial code. He said she did get legal advice when buying the property, but failed to seek further expert tax advice as recommended.
On Thursday morning, the former deputy prime minister said: "I set out to pay the correct amount of tax. I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC has accepted this."
She added: "I wanted to ensure that I paid every penny that I owed, and have done so. I am relieved that my family can now move on - and that I can get on with my job."
When scrutiny arose around the former deputy prime minister's tax arrangements, her team initially insisted she had paid the correct amount but as a result of the media scrutiny, sought advice from a senior lawyer.
After receiving the lawyer's final opinion, Rayner acknowledged she had not paid enough tax when buying her East Sussex flat and said the "mistake" came about because she believed it was the only property she owned.
However, due to complex arrangements surrounding a trust for her disabled son, the Hove flat should have been considered to be Rayner's second home - meaning she should have paid an additional £40,000 in stamp duty.
Following HMRC's investigation, Rayner accepted the assessment that she should have paid the higher rate of stamp duty and has paid the additional sum.
Rayner has made a number of critical interventions following last week's election results, calling for bolder action from the government as she warned Labour faced its "last chance".
She has also called for Andy Burnham to be allowed to return to Parliament.
The Greater Manchester mayor is not currently an MP but supporters hope he can find a seat and win a by-election so he would be able to stand if there were a leadership contest.
Rayner denied she had done a deal with Burnham to support him as leader if he promised to give her a senior position in his cabinet, telling ITV: "I'm not doing deals or anything like that."
Lennox970
Active Member
The latest from inside Downing Street...
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Labour MP John Simons says he's standing down so Andy Burnham can try to enter Parliament and 'drive change'
If Burnham wins Josh Simons' seat, he could challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership. Earlier, Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned and called for a "broad" contest.
www.bbc.com
Labour MP says he's standing down so Andy Burnham can try to enter Parliament and 'drive change'
- Labour MP John Simons says he's standing down to allow Andy Burnham to try to enter Parliament . The Greater Manchester mayor can only challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership if he is an MP - Simons says he wants Burnham to "drive the change our country is crying out for" .
- "Today, I am putting the people I represent and the country I love first and will be resigning as MP for Makerfield. ''I am standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home." More now from Simons' statement. He says the decision to resign "has not been an easy" one to make. But the Makerfield MP says that if elected, Burnham could "drive the change our country is crying out for". "We have lost the trust of those our party was built to serve. It is my unwavering belief that nothing short of urgent, radical, courageous reform will make a difference." Simons says Labour "has one last chance" to "drive economic growth, secure our borders, reform our state and politics". "That is the fight. I believe Andy is the one to lead it," he says.
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thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
BREAKING- Sir Keir Starmer will have no choice but to allow Andy Burnham to stand in the Makerfield by-election, a senior government source has said. Both the Cabinet and Number 10 aides are clear that Starmer will not be able to block Burnham this time because his authority has been so severely weakened Josh Simons has stood down as the Labour MP for Makerfield to make way for Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester. Burnham is expected to challenge Starmer if he wins the by-election. In January Starmer used his majority on the National Executive Committee, Labour's ruling body, to block Burnham from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election. Labour subsequently finished third behind the Greens and Reform. A senior government source said that there is "no way" that Starmer can stop Burnham from standing now given that his authority has been so severely damaged. They said the view is shared by both the Cabinet and Number 10 aides. "It's all about Andy now," they said.
Northern Light
Superstar
Related to the above, we all read of the crushing defeat of Labour in local elections, with Reform UK, the populist right-wing, pro-Brexit cabal being the biggest beneficiary. Well.....
7 Reform Councillors suspended, and they haven't even been seated yet!
7 Reform Councillors suspended, and they haven't even been seated yet!
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
DAN HODGES: My sources tell me Keir has decided to stand down
Keir Starmer has told close friends he intends to stand down as Prime Minister and set out an orderly timetable for his departure.
DAN HODGES: My sources tell me Keir has decided to stand down, but he'll do it on his terms
Keir Starmer has told close friends he intends to stand down as Prime Minister and set out an orderly timetable for his departure.
A member of the Cabinet told me late yesterday afternoon: ‘Keir understands the political reality.
‘He realises the current chaos is unsustainable. He simply wants to be able to do it in a dignified way and in a manner of his own choosing. He will set out a timetable.’
According to another Cabinet source, it is still unclear precisely when that announcement will be made. Some senior Starmer allies have been urging him to hold off making any statement until the first polls and canvassing data is returned from the Makerfield by-election.
‘Morgan McSweeney [the PM’s former chief of staff] has been urging him to hang on. He’s arguing if they show a tight contest or that Andy is on course to lose, then there is still a chance,’ the minister claimed.
But one of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet supporters told me: ‘He’s not going to take the risk of waiting for the result of the by-election. That would be too much of a personal humiliation. If he waits and then Burnham wins, it looks as if he’s driven him out of office.’
Ironically, the announcement from Sir Keir could potentially undermine the Manchester mayor’s bid to return to Westminster. According to one senior ally, the preference within the Burnham camp is for Starmer not to make any pronouncement prior to the poll in Makerfield on June 18. ‘It is a much cleaner contest if Keir Starmer is on the ballot. Andy needs to be able to say, “If you vote for me I will go down to Westminster and drag him out of Downing Street for you.”’
A spokesman for the Burnham team stated they were ‘relaxed’ about whether Sir Keir announces a timetable. ‘That’s a matter for the PM. We’re concentrating on making Andy’s case for selection as the candidate for Makerfield.’
But another Burnham ally told me: ‘We don’t want the message to get complicated. It’s far simpler if we’re in a position to say, “You’re frustrated by the pace of change. Vote for Andy and you’ll see an immediate change at No 10”.’
Throughout the week, Starmer’s mood – and the mood among his key advisers – has fluctuated wildly. On Monday evening, as a wave of resignations from junior ministers rocked the Government, the Prime Minister started to recognise he would need to bow to the inevitable.
He reached out to a number of senior ministers to gauge their views, and start to map out an orderly way forward. But a series of aggressive briefings against him – especially from allies of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood – provoked a furious reaction from Sir Keir and his allies.
‘His view was, “I’m trying to do the decent thing here and they’re all trying to f*** me over,”’ said a source. The following morning Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, was despatched on to the media round to begin to plough the road for a possible resignation announcement. ‘I’m not going to get ahead of any decision the PM may or may not take,’ he told Sky News.
But then before his next interview the position had changed. ‘Darren got a call from No 10,’ a Government adviser told me. ‘They said, “Change your line. We’re digging in”.’
For the next 48 hours, Starmer was fortified by a burning sense of betrayal directed towards senior members of his Cabinet. Top of the list was Mahmood, whose close ally Josh Simons had boosted the insurrection of Labour MPs with an article in The Times stating: ‘I do not believe the PM can rise to this moment. He has lost the country. He should take control of the situation by overseeing an orderly transition to a new PM.’
This intervention especially wounded Sir Keir because Simons had been one of his key strategists and director of the Starmerite Labour Together think-tank.
By now, Downing Street were seeing treachery everywhere. I was told by one Starmer supporter two senior ministers who were publicly backing him were surreptitiously despatching their special advisers to lobby MPs to call for his departure. Other senior ministers were reportedly brokering deals with rival camps for Cabinet positions following the transition to a new leader.
As one minister said: ‘What really got to Keir was people were saying to him, “I’m still with you.” Then they’d walk out and carry on actively co-ordinating with the plotters.’
The decisive moment came on Thursday. No 10 were hopeful that a new raft of good news on the economy and NHS waiting lists could be used to try to seize back the agenda, and start to construct a narrative of slow but steady government delivery.
But then Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared in Downing Street to conduct an interview with the BBC. ‘Because of the additional money, £29 billion a year that I’ve been able to put into the Health Service as Chancellor, that means that those waiting lists should continue to fall,’ she said.
Her use of the word ‘I’ rather than ‘the Prime Minister and I’ was seen as significant. ‘She’s decoupling from him,’ another Cabinet minister told me.
A few hours later Wes Streeting quit the Cabinet. His departure was followed shortly after by the news Josh Simons was resigning the seat in Makerfield to allow Andy Burnham to return to Parliament.
‘That was a body blow to them [No 10],’ one minister revealed. ‘They thought they’d seen off Wes and that Andy was bluffing about having a seat.’
Inside Downing Street, a desperate last-minute operation was launched to convince members of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) to block Burnham from standing.
But it was thwarted after Labour Deputy Leader Lucy Powell organised an unprecedentedly swift three-hour consultation that took Starmer’s team completely by surprise. ‘It was done and dusted before No 10 knew what was happening,’ one NEC member told me.
Last week I spoke to a friend of Starmer’s about whether he thought the PM would continue to fight on, even though his position was clearly hopeless. ‘Keir’s stubborn,’ they told me. ‘He has this ability to believe that nothing is written in stone. That he’s a cat with nine lives.’
Not any more. Keir Starmer recognises his ninth – and final – life has at last been used up.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Andy Burnham gets green light to run for selection in Makerfield by-election | UK News | Sky News
Andy Burnham has been cleared to run for selection in the Makerfield by-election following days of speculation that he will challenge Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.
Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) agreed to allow the mayor of Greater Manchester to contest the seat. A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Labour's ruling body, the National Executive Committee has today given permission to Andy Burnham to stand in the candidate selection process in the forthcoming by-election for the Makerfield constituency." Mr Burnham, who dodged questions when he was spotted jogging by Sky News on Friday, has already confirmed his intention to stand in the by-election after the current MP, Josh Simons, announced he would quit parliament to make way for Mr Burnham. Mr Burnham said he has wanted to "bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people". Mr Burnham previously wanted to stand as the Labour candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election but his bid was blocked by the NEC. Applications for the candidate selection process close on Monday and the NEC will endorse a candidate on Thursday. It is thought that the earliest date the by-election near Greater Manchester could take place is 18 June. If he is successfully elected, Mr Burnham is widely expected to challenge Sir Keir for the party leadership. Labour expects a stiff challenge from Reform UK in Makerfield, with Mr Simons securing a majority of just 5,399 over Nigel Farage's party at the 2024 general election. Since then, Labour's polling collapse and Reform's surge have seen their positions reverse. This month's May elections saw Reform win every council ward in the Makerfield constituency, securing around half the vote, while Labour won only a little more than a quarter. Allies of Wes Streeting have told Sky News' Ali Fortescue that he will stand in any future Labour leadership contest. It followed his resignation as health secretary on Thursday, when he delivered an explosive letter to Sir Keir accusing his government of "drift" and the PM himself of leaving a leadership "vacuum". However, he did not trigger an immediate leadership contest himself as expected, calling instead for a "broad" debate about the party's future. He also said he backed Mr Burnham to be the candidate in the upcoming by-election. In a post on X, the now-former health secretary wrote: "We need our best players on the pitch. There is no doubt that Andy Burnham is one of them. "The Makerfield by-election will be tough. Votes will need to be earned. Andy is the best chance of winning and that should override factional advantage or propping up one person." Housing Secretary Steve Reed, a close ally of Sir Keir, has admitted the PM is "unpopular". He told Sky News: "It's not a good week that we just had, let me put that on the table straight away. "It reminds me of what went on under the Conservatives, and I think we need to draw that to a close as quickly as possible." Asked if changing an unpopular leader was necessary to beat Reform UK at the next election, Reed replied: "The prime minister is unpopular, but each of the last four prime ministers, in turn, has been the most unpopular prime minister we've ever had."
Andy Burnham gets green light to run for selection in Makerfield by-election
A decision by Labour's governing committee could pave the way for the Greater Manchester mayor to return to parliament.Andy Burnham has been cleared to run for selection in the Makerfield by-election following days of speculation that he will challenge Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.
Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) agreed to allow the mayor of Greater Manchester to contest the seat. A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Labour's ruling body, the National Executive Committee has today given permission to Andy Burnham to stand in the candidate selection process in the forthcoming by-election for the Makerfield constituency." Mr Burnham, who dodged questions when he was spotted jogging by Sky News on Friday, has already confirmed his intention to stand in the by-election after the current MP, Josh Simons, announced he would quit parliament to make way for Mr Burnham. Mr Burnham said he has wanted to "bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people". Mr Burnham previously wanted to stand as the Labour candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election but his bid was blocked by the NEC. Applications for the candidate selection process close on Monday and the NEC will endorse a candidate on Thursday. It is thought that the earliest date the by-election near Greater Manchester could take place is 18 June. If he is successfully elected, Mr Burnham is widely expected to challenge Sir Keir for the party leadership. Labour expects a stiff challenge from Reform UK in Makerfield, with Mr Simons securing a majority of just 5,399 over Nigel Farage's party at the 2024 general election. Since then, Labour's polling collapse and Reform's surge have seen their positions reverse. This month's May elections saw Reform win every council ward in the Makerfield constituency, securing around half the vote, while Labour won only a little more than a quarter. Allies of Wes Streeting have told Sky News' Ali Fortescue that he will stand in any future Labour leadership contest. It followed his resignation as health secretary on Thursday, when he delivered an explosive letter to Sir Keir accusing his government of "drift" and the PM himself of leaving a leadership "vacuum". However, he did not trigger an immediate leadership contest himself as expected, calling instead for a "broad" debate about the party's future. He also said he backed Mr Burnham to be the candidate in the upcoming by-election. In a post on X, the now-former health secretary wrote: "We need our best players on the pitch. There is no doubt that Andy Burnham is one of them. "The Makerfield by-election will be tough. Votes will need to be earned. Andy is the best chance of winning and that should override factional advantage or propping up one person." Housing Secretary Steve Reed, a close ally of Sir Keir, has admitted the PM is "unpopular". He told Sky News: "It's not a good week that we just had, let me put that on the table straight away. "It reminds me of what went on under the Conservatives, and I think we need to draw that to a close as quickly as possible." Asked if changing an unpopular leader was necessary to beat Reform UK at the next election, Reed replied: "The prime minister is unpopular, but each of the last four prime ministers, in turn, has been the most unpopular prime minister we've ever had."
DSCToronto
Superstar
Yes, borrowed time and all that. Prepare for a new thread!
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Starmer “is deciding whether to announce a departure timetable”
The very difficult decision being made by the prime minister at his Chequers retreat this weekend is whether he can re-assert his authority and re-energise his government, despite knowing that if Burnham wins in Makerfield he will be evicted - or whether he would bring more stability to...
peston.substack.com
Starmer “is deciding whether to announce a departure timetable”
The very difficult decision being made by the prime minister at his Chequers retreat this weekend is whether he can re-assert his authority and re-energise his government, despite knowing that if Burnham wins in Makerfield he will be evicted - or whether he would bring more stability to government by announcing a timetable for a leadership election and his own departure. That is what his ministers tell me, though they concede that on either course government will lose momentum, at least till it’s known whether Burnham is the new PM or not. For what it’s worth, some of the cabinet believe it would be less chaotic if he sets the date for his exit, and he could use his time-limited period to shape a positive legacy for himself. For this contingent, like trade union leaders, the die is already cast that he will have to resign in coming months, whether Burnham is elected an MP or not. And the PM should acknowledge that reality, they say. Other ministers want him to stay, pointing out that there would be mayhem if Burnham were to lose and it would be preferable in those circumstances for the party to draw breath rather than charge headlong into a leadership election.Many of those insisting he shouldn’t quit are also those who will be out of a job if Burnham or another candidate replaces him. One minister insists the choice is not so binary and there are other options that could keep the government show on the road. This minister said however that whatever Starmer decides he will have to spell this out explicitly and in detail to all of us. The big personal judgment for Starmer is whether he becomes more or less of a lame duck by taking control of the time and manner of his departure, rather than leaving it in the lap of the election gods. His colleagues don’t know what he will decide.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Starmer says he will campaign for Burnham in Makerfield
The prime minister says Labour needs to "all pull together and fight", after a revolt against his leadership.
www.bbc.com
Starmer says he will campaign for Burnham in Makerfield
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he will be out campaigning for potential Labour leadership rival Andy Burnham ahead of the Makerfield by-election.
Sir Keir said Labour needed to "all pull together and fight" in the by-election taking place on 18 June.
"I want to be part of that, of course I do," the prime minister told reporters on a visit to Essex on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Burnham said: "Anyone who wants to embrace Andy's campaign message is welcome on the campaign."
Sir Keir's leadership was plunged into crisis last week, after dozens of Labour MPs called for him to stand down and Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary, criticising his government's "drift".
The revolt against Sir Keir's leadership came after a dire set of election results that saw Labour lose power in Wales and almost 1,500 council seats in England.
Sir Keir has insisted he will not "walk away" from Downing Street and has sought to seize control of the political agenda with a series of announcements on the cost of living this week.
His intention to canvass voters in Makerfield, in Greater Manchester, is unexpected given Burnham is widely expected to challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership, should he become an MP.
When asked whether he would be out supporting the Greater Manchester mayor's campaign in Makerfield, Sir Keir told reporters: "Yes, and I've said to the whole Labour movement that I want everybody to be involved in the campaign, whatever other discussions are going on, it's really important – that's a straight fight between Labour and Reform."
He said Labour has "got a very good story to tell" on the doorstep, referring to recent economic growth figures, falling NHS waiting lists, and a drop in UK net migration to the lowest level since the start of the Covid pandemic.
But in interviews and speeches in recent days, Burnham has been sending a different message.
On Thursday, he told BBC Radio Manchester Britain had been "on the wrong path for 40 years".
In a speech last week, he said "a vote for me will be a vote to change Labour".
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has already been out campaigning with his party's Makerfield candidate, Robert Kenyon.
Farage has described the by-election as a "David versus Goliath battle" between Burnham and Kenyon, who came second in the constituency in the 2024 general election.
Farage told ITV News Reform UK would "throw the kitchen sink" at the by-election, and said the party's priority in the region would be to ease pressure on social housing.
The Green Party of England and Wales said it was searching for a new candidate after the one it selected, Chris Kennedy, withdrew for personal and family reasons.
The party said it was reopening candidate nominations on Thursday.
A spokesperson said the party would campaign to "expose the risk of Reform" and highlight its policies "to make the super-rich pay their fair share".
A full list of candidates standing in the by-election can be viewed here.
thettctransitfanatic
Senior Member
Chris Mason: Inside the shadow contest to be our next prime minister
It is now likely, perhaps highly likely, that we will have another new prime minister, possibly within weeks, or perhaps within months.
Things are considerably less fraught, noisy and wildly unpredictable than they were last week.
However the politics that will shape who is most likely to replace Sir Keir Starmer is playing out before us.
But hang on a minute. As supporters of the prime minister like to point out, there has been no formal challenge to him yet, and he is making clear, for now at least, that he is getting on with the job.
Some Labour MPs are exasperated that he hasn't set out a timetable for his departure.
Others ponder that it might be helpful to Andy Burnham, in his forthcoming by-election contest in Makerfield, if the prime minister hasn't announced a plan to step down, so Burnham can make the argument that a win for him would ensure Starmer was forced to.
And there is another curiosity here: not only is this a shadow contest rather than a formal one, but Burnham has that by-election to win while his potential rival, the now former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, does not.
It means there is an asymmetry to the audiences they are currently talking to. For Burnham, there is a geographical and demographic focus to his immediate pitch: the collection of towns and villages near Wigan, St Helens and Leigh in the north west of England that make up the Makerfield constituency.
For Streeting, the audience is rather different: Labour MPs and Labour Party members whom he needs to convince if there is a contest next month.
Streeting, now a backbencher, is unshackled from the obligations of front bench collective responsibility for the first time in years.
This means he is able to speak freely in public, and chose to set out over the weekend that he believed Brexit was a "catastrophic mistake" and that he hoped, one day, the UK would rejoin the European Union. Burnham's view isn't wildly different – he said last autumn, for instance, that he hoped the UK would sign up to the EU again in his lifetime. But the mayor of Greater Manchester has rather changed his emphasis, saying talking now about rejoining the bloc is "the last thing we should do". Given Makerfield voted decisively for Brexit and heavily backed Reform UK at the local elections, perhaps this is no surprise. He says his emphasis now also reflects his desire to try to bring people together – he said over the weekend he entirely understood why many people had been drawn towards Reform UK. Incidentally, there are plenty of Labour MPs exasperated that the whole issue of Brexit is a major public talking-point again. "It's mad. The referendum decision has to stand," one minister said to me. "I know what plenty of Labour Party members are like. They think the country got it wrong and they'd love to reverse Brexit. But it makes us look very detached. Improve Brexit, sure, but let's not get into overturning it, for goodness sake."Burnham has also said that as prime minister he would maintain the borrowing limits the current government has described as "fiscal rules". He has been at pains to try to reassure the markets about this, having floated the idea recently of excluding some defence spending from them and telling the New Statesman last autumn that the government had to "get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets". He was publicly rebuked for the comments by some Labour MPs at the time, including the prime minister and the chancellor. He has since claimed this remark referred to politicians placing the country "in hock" to the markets because they had lost control of public spending.
There will be plenty of scrutiny to come of both of them as they each attempt to sketch out their vision for the country that is both distinctive and appears different from Sir Keir's, while sufficiently close to Labour's manifesto of two years ago to take on critics who will say that whoever replaces the prime minister doesn't have a mandate of their own and so should call a general election. Already some in the party are privately pondering that if Burnham does win the by-election such would be the sense of relief within the party that they had found someone capable of beating Reform that he could be installed as party leader without a contest and become prime minister within weeks. Let's see. But others also wonder how on Earth the party might react if the opposite happens and he loses the by-election. The noisy rows and ructions of last week might seem like nothing to what might happen in that scenario.
Chris Mason: Inside the shadow contest to be our next prime minister
It is now likely, perhaps highly likely, that we will have another new prime minister, possibly within weeks, or perhaps within months.
Things are considerably less fraught, noisy and wildly unpredictable than they were last week.
However the politics that will shape who is most likely to replace Sir Keir Starmer is playing out before us.
But hang on a minute. As supporters of the prime minister like to point out, there has been no formal challenge to him yet, and he is making clear, for now at least, that he is getting on with the job.
Some Labour MPs are exasperated that he hasn't set out a timetable for his departure.
Others ponder that it might be helpful to Andy Burnham, in his forthcoming by-election contest in Makerfield, if the prime minister hasn't announced a plan to step down, so Burnham can make the argument that a win for him would ensure Starmer was forced to.
And there is another curiosity here: not only is this a shadow contest rather than a formal one, but Burnham has that by-election to win while his potential rival, the now former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, does not.
It means there is an asymmetry to the audiences they are currently talking to. For Burnham, there is a geographical and demographic focus to his immediate pitch: the collection of towns and villages near Wigan, St Helens and Leigh in the north west of England that make up the Makerfield constituency.
For Streeting, the audience is rather different: Labour MPs and Labour Party members whom he needs to convince if there is a contest next month.
Streeting, now a backbencher, is unshackled from the obligations of front bench collective responsibility for the first time in years.
This means he is able to speak freely in public, and chose to set out over the weekend that he believed Brexit was a "catastrophic mistake" and that he hoped, one day, the UK would rejoin the European Union. Burnham's view isn't wildly different – he said last autumn, for instance, that he hoped the UK would sign up to the EU again in his lifetime. But the mayor of Greater Manchester has rather changed his emphasis, saying talking now about rejoining the bloc is "the last thing we should do". Given Makerfield voted decisively for Brexit and heavily backed Reform UK at the local elections, perhaps this is no surprise. He says his emphasis now also reflects his desire to try to bring people together – he said over the weekend he entirely understood why many people had been drawn towards Reform UK. Incidentally, there are plenty of Labour MPs exasperated that the whole issue of Brexit is a major public talking-point again. "It's mad. The referendum decision has to stand," one minister said to me. "I know what plenty of Labour Party members are like. They think the country got it wrong and they'd love to reverse Brexit. But it makes us look very detached. Improve Brexit, sure, but let's not get into overturning it, for goodness sake."Burnham has also said that as prime minister he would maintain the borrowing limits the current government has described as "fiscal rules". He has been at pains to try to reassure the markets about this, having floated the idea recently of excluding some defence spending from them and telling the New Statesman last autumn that the government had to "get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets". He was publicly rebuked for the comments by some Labour MPs at the time, including the prime minister and the chancellor. He has since claimed this remark referred to politicians placing the country "in hock" to the markets because they had lost control of public spending.
There will be plenty of scrutiny to come of both of them as they each attempt to sketch out their vision for the country that is both distinctive and appears different from Sir Keir's, while sufficiently close to Labour's manifesto of two years ago to take on critics who will say that whoever replaces the prime minister doesn't have a mandate of their own and so should call a general election. Already some in the party are privately pondering that if Burnham does win the by-election such would be the sense of relief within the party that they had found someone capable of beating Reform that he could be installed as party leader without a contest and become prime minister within weeks. Let's see. But others also wonder how on Earth the party might react if the opposite happens and he loses the by-election. The noisy rows and ructions of last week might seem like nothing to what might happen in that scenario.