London business chiefs issued a warning to Andy Burnham and other would-be Labour leadership contenders not to “take London for granted”.
Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive of business group BusinessLDN, also stressed that the window to boost economic growth in Britain before the next general election, expected in 2029, is “closing fast”.
She spoke out as political parties were ramping up campaigning ahead of the Makerfield by-election on Thursday.
Greater Manchester Mayor Mr Burnham is seeking to win the contest, which is widely seen as a two-horse race against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, so he can return to Parliament.
If the former Labour Cabinet minister is successful, he is expected to launch a leadership bid to replace Sir Keir Starmer, with growing speculation that this could happen quickly.
Ilford North MP Wes Streeting, who recently resigned as Health Secretary unleashing stinging criticism of Sir Keir’s government, may also enter a leadership contest.
Amid the political turmoil, Ms Barua was due to tell BusinessLDN’s Future London conference in the City that the local election results, which saw Labour suffer heavy losses in the capital, meant that political parties now had to do more to win over Londoners.
“For too long, the main political parties have taken London for granted,” she was set to say.
“In part, this was because the city was seen as politically settled: Labour dominating in recent times, with the Conservatives and Lib Dems performing strongly in parts of the city but unlikely to make major inroads.
“None of the major parties were incentivised to focus on London.
“Last month’s results change that: London is now back in play.”
Reform UK made sweeping gains across England in the May elections but it was Zack Polanski’s Green Party which made far bigger inroads into Labour strongholds in London, winning control of a string of councils.
Mr Burnham is favourite to beat Reform’s Robert Kenyon, according to polls, despite Labour’s national unpopularity and strong support for Mr Farage’s party in Makerfield at the local elections.
“Andy Burnham is a very popular local Labour politician running for Westminster in order, everyone expects, to challenge the very unpopular Labour Prime Minister who has presided over his party’s polling collapse,” explained Rob Ford, Professor of Political Science at Manchester University.
“It seems a reasonable theory that Burnham will run ahead of his party, either because voters like him personally, or because they see him as the best option to “get Starmer out.”
Sir Keir has vowed to fight any attempts to topple him but there is a growing expectation at Westminster that Mr Burnham could soon be Prime Minister.
He has faced accusations, though, of being anti-London as he has banged the drum for the North West and other regions.
If he does gain the keys to No10, Mr Burnham is expected to step up measures to boost regional economic growth.
But Ms Barua was set to urge the political parties also to do more to unlock the full potential of the capital.
“Politicians should be in no doubt that the window of opportunity to boost growth in this Parliament is closing fast,” she was due to say, addressing some 250 senior business and political leaders.
“Whatever the outcome of any leadership contest, it’s vital that the Labour Party swiftly puts party politics aside and that the Government doubles down on its central mission, delivering growth.”
The Standard has revealed how the deteriorating mobile phone signal in London is worse than in Manchester and Leeds and how the number of young people in the capital without a job has soared.
BusinessLDN stressed how the housing crisis in the capital, with rising rents, youth unemployment and the failure to deliver major infrastructure projects are key barriers holding back London’s economy.
The business group also emphasiseed that the capital accounts for almost a quarter of the UK economy, making a net fiscal contribution of over £40 billion a year to Treasury coffers.
