ANDY Burnham will contest a leadership contest if he wins a seat in Westminster and one is triggered, the Manchester mayor has said.
While maintaining that he would not start a contest himself, he said that if Wes Streeting follows through with his plans to challenge Keir Starmer, he would join the contest.
To do this, he would need to first win a seat through a parliamentary by-election, with his chance coming on June 18 when he will stand in the by-election for the Makerfield seat.
While the Labour hopeful is currently poling in the lead, he is under pressure from Reform UK, who have seen success in local council wards in and around the area.
Pollster Luke Tryl, director of More In Common, said Burnham’s candidacy could be worth a 20-point boost to Labour’s prospects in a seat otherwise “tailor-made” for Reform UK.
Tryl said the mayor’s popularity meant he started the race “narrowly ahead”, but added “anything could happen” during the campaign, with Burnham’s handling of a “change message” likely to prove vital.
He said: “Andy Burnham definitely wants it to be Andy Burnham versus Reform. If it’s Labour versus Reform, Reform win.”
The by-election was triggered by former minister Josh Simons quitting to make way for the Greater Manchester mayor to run for a return to Westminster and a possible challenge against Starmer.
Starmer has insisted he will not set out a timetable for his departure even if the mayor returns to Parliament.
If the Prime Minister does not resign, a challenger would need to secure the backing of 81 Labour MPs to mount a leadership challenge and triggering a contest.
The most likely MP to do this would be Wes Streeting, who resigned in May from his post as health secretary. Reports have speculated that his leadership bid stalled as he was unable to secure the support of 81 MPs, however he has insisted against this.
Instead, Streeting suggested his challenge would “lack legitimacy” without Burnham being given a chance to return to Parliament.
“That might have been the self-interested thing to do for candidates who are in Parliament presently, but it wasn’t in the party’s interest and wasn’t in the national interest,” he added.
Now, speaking on the BBC's political show Question Time, Burnham has confirmed speculation that he would join any contest triggered by Streeting, saying: "I'm not somebody who gets ahead of myself. I can't do anything unless I'm lucky enough to get the support of people here. But if I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level and give this constituency maximum power and influence.
"I think Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running, I would seek to join it.
"But I'd have to persuade members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to do the same. So that's the only question... I've said to my team, let's have a proper look at this and let's develop a policy."
A special edition of the political debate programme was produced in Makerfield on Thursday, focusing on the upcoming by-election.
The panel featured five candidates who are standing in the by-election, Andy Burnham from Labour, as well as the candidates for the Conservatives, LibDems, Greens and Reform UK.
