Andy Burnham ‘to cut a deal with Polanski’ as Manchester mayor tops poll to replace PM

Andy Burnham would ally with the Green Party and raze the first-pass electoral system if he replaces Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, supporters of the Manchester mayor say.

Labor’s devastating defeat in Thursday’s Gorton and Denton byelection has its leadership rivals circling ominously; Although Mr Burnham was not an MP, he became a favorite among both Labor voters and the wider electorate.

Sir Keir’s refusal to allow Mr Burnham to stand as his candidate in the by-election is blamed for the defeat by many MPs.

But Mr Burnham’s supporters are confident that morale has fallen so low in the party that, having been blocked, he will be allowed to stand the next time a suitable seat becomes available.

The claims come as poll data shared exclusively with The Mail on Sunday showed 44 per cent of voters think the Prime Minister should resign after losing the by-election, with just 34 per cent saying he should stay.

The research, by pollster and former Conservative Party deputy leader Lord Ashcroft, rates Mr Burnham as the ‘best Prime Minister’ among Labor leadership hopefuls with 27 per cent; He is followed by Ed Miliband with 8 per cent and Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting with 6 per cent.

It also suggests that a coalition between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Zack Polanski’s Greens could beat the Conservative Party/Reform UK coalition by 43 per cent to 33 per cent.

Mr Burnham is understood to have tried to persuade veteran Labor MP for St Helens South and Whiston, Marie Rimmer, to step aside to allow him to return to the House of Commons.

Lord Ashcroft’s poll also showed Andy Burnham is rated as the ‘best prime minister’ to replace Keir Starmer, ahead of rivals Ed Miliband, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting.

One supportive MP said: ‘It’s not a done deal yet but we’re hopeful. The implied proposition is that if he does the right thing he could end his career in the Lords.’

But if Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee tried to block Mr Burnham again, using the same excuse that the party did not want to fight a by-election for Manchester mayor that could be won by Reform, Burnham is still said to be considering the ‘nuclear option’ of resigning as mayor.

Mr Burnham is on record as saying that replacing the UK’s traditional first-past-the-post electoral system with proportional representation (PR) could ‘build a more collaborative, long-standing culture within Westminster’.

This is also a long-cherished goal of the Green Party, which will struggle to come to power under the current system despite its success in last week’s by-election.

Last night, a Labor MP and Burnham supporter said ‘a deal on public relations’ could be a key part of the new alliance.

He also said Mr Burnham was ‘ideally placed’ to reach such a deal with the Greens.

But the idea would be fiercely opposed by many Labor MPs, who feared it would mean their party would never win a clear Commons majority again.

Separately, there are allegations that former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner privately told Mr Burnham that she would not nominate him for a leadership role if he ran.

Mr Burnham’s supporters have said he could form an alliance with the Greens led by Zack Polanski and smash the post-election system for the first time.

But Burnham is said to be prepared to do so to prevent Health Secretary Wes Streeting from getting the job if a contest begins before she returns to the House of Commons.

Most Labor MPs believe Sir Keir will not face a leadership challenge until after the May local elections.

Last night Mr Burnham said the allegations against him were ‘fabricated’.

But a Green Party spokesman welcomed his support for PR, adding: ‘This is the best thing for representative democracy, even if Labor are coming to this now to protect themselves from being destroyed in the 2029 General Election.’