Burnham warned not to ‘rock the boat’ with Starmer leadership challenge
David Lammy has warned Andy Burnham and others not to “rock the boat” by making moves to challenge Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labor Party.
Describing the Greater Manchester mayor as a “dear friend”, the deputy prime minister said he would not be advising him amid speculation he would return to the House of Commons by standing in the Gorton and Denton byelections, but warned that parties that “air their dirty laundry in public are often a major turn-off for voters”.
He said any leadership change would “likely” mean Labor, which currently trails Nigel Farage’s Reform in the polls, would be forced to call a snap election.
His comments came amid threats from Labor supporters that Sir Keir would “face a serious backlash” that could “hasten his departure” if he tried to stop Mr Burnham from standing in the upcoming by-elections in his own political backyard.
Mr Burnham may seek to bid to return to Westminster as an MP, a prerequisite for a prime ministerial post, after a Greater Manchester MP announced he would quit the House of Commons on Thursday.
Andrew Gwynne said he would step down as MP for Gorton and Denton, citing “serious ill health”.
But for Mr Burnham, who has not yet commented, to run, he must be approved by Labour’s national executive committee (NEC), which is widely seen as being under the control of Sir Keir’s supporters.
Asked about Mr Burnham’s possible return to Westminster, Mr Lammy said: “I would say, and I feel this very strongly, that we are all in the business of Labor politics and we all need to be seen as continuing to serve working people. “And parties of fighting, bitching and moaning, airing their dirty laundry in public, are often a huge turn-off for voters…
“Please let’s not rock the boat and blow it up, as Labor governments have done throughout history. That’s why Labor was in power for 22 years in the 20th century alone. Let’s not make that mistake.”
He added: “I don’t know if Andy really wants to go back to Westminster politics. He could, and there’s a lot of value to him. But I often caution those around us who are starting to destabilize the ship and say we could have a new leader. No, we can’t. Because you’d have to make a choice immediately, probably prematurely…”
Labor MPs and union leaders have warned against using the party’s ruling national executive committee to block Mr Burnham’s survival.
Jo White, who chairs the Red Wall group of Labor MPs, said: “Let the North decide who the Labor candidate will be in the Gorton and Denton byelection. A stitch-up in London would be disastrous for Labour.”
Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith said: “Gorton and Denton deserve the best possible selection of candidates. I agree with the Prime Minister that our focus should be on serving the people, not speculating about future leadership contests. Any decision to limit the choice would be wrong.”
Andrea Egan of Unison said: “We have seen enough control madness in the Labor Party and it has done nothing but damage to our movement”, while Steve Wright of the Fire Brigades Union said it would be “democratic outrage to prevent Andy Burnham from calling an election”.
On Friday, health minister Stephen Kinnock insisted the process would be the same as other candidate selections.
