Which MPs are backing Burnham and Streeting in race to be Labour’s next prime minister?
Now that Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham have effectively thrown their hats in the ring for a possible Labor leadership contest, his allies are advocating for their own man to replace Keir Starmer.
Here we take a look at who they are and why they support their candidate.
Andy Burnham
Josh Simons
Simons surprised Westminster this week by announcing he would stand down from his seat of Makerfield to allow Mr Burnham to stand for parliament. Previously seen as an ally of home secretary Shabana Mahmood he has warned Labor faces an “existential” crisis without Mr Burnham’s leadership.
Lucy Powell’s
The Labor deputy leader is a long-time ally and close friend of the mayor of Greater Manchester. On Friday he said he “fully supports” his bid to be Labor’s candidate in Makerfield, adding: “We need to do our politics differently, end factionalism, embrace all the different traditions of the Labor Party, all the different voices and put a team back together.”
“In my view that means Andy Burnham being a key player in that team.”
Heidi Alexander
The transport secretary is still a member of Keir Starmer’s cabinet and said this week that he had his “full support”. But he is expected to support Mr Burnham if an election contest begins.
‘Soft Left’ Labor MPs
Much of the party’s “soft left” wing is understood to support Mr Burnham and his call for so-called “Manchesterism” to be implemented more widely across the country. They will have been buoyed by his interview with Channel 4 News on Saturday, in which he said: “We need a completely different path. What is that path? Put more things under stronger public control: energy, housing, water, transport.”
“I’ve done this on buses in Greater Manchester.”
Wes Street
Jess Phillips
The former minister resigned from Keir Starmer’s team last week. He said the former health minister showed the “courage and audacity” needed in government. She told the BBC: “The Prime Minister certainly cares about violence against women and girls, don’t get me wrong, but what I see in Wes is bravery and bravery.”
Zubir Ahmed
The Glasgow South West MP also resigned as health minister this week and is seen as a close ally of Mr Streeting. He also used his resignation letter to publicly criticize Sir Keir’s leadership.
Chris Curtis
He is with Mr Ahmed, another member of the 2024 squad that has brought a number of new Labor MPs to parliament. As MP for Milton Keynes North, he is chairman of the influential Labor Growth Group, which campaigns for economic and planning reform.
Peter Kyle
The business secretary has so far remained loyal to Keir Starmer. However, the Hove and Portslade MP is a close friend of Streeting. He was forced to deny they had conspired after the disastrous local election results and instead said they went out to dinner and watched. The Devil Wears Prada 2.
MPs on the right of the Labor Party
Mr Streeting is viewed with suspicion by some MPs on the party’s left, who fear he is far-right leaning. But his supporters argue he is the only one who can save Labor and the country from a Reform-led government after the next election.
