Burnham confirms he will run to replace Starmer as Prime Minister if he wins Makerfield by-election

Andy Burnham has given the starting shot to his campaign to become prime minister by finally confirming he will challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labor leadership if he wins the Makerfield by-election.

In a BBC Question Time special, he told viewers former health secretary Wes Streeting “looks like he’s started a leadership contest, so if that’s going on I’d like to get in on it.”

No 10 immediately hit back, saying the process to challenge the Labor leader had “not been triggered” and that Sir Keir “won’t be going away”.

Mr Burnham’s hopes of taking the seat, which is a prerequisite for becoming Prime Minister, were boosted further when the second poll of the campaign saw him rise six points to 49 per cent of the vote, ahead of his Reform rival Robert Kenyon, who fell one point to 39 per cent.

Although he is popular in the area, part of Greater Manchester, where he is currently mayor, he still faces a fight to win the seat.

Makerfield voted for Brexit in 2016 and Reform performed exceptionally well in the constituency in last month’s local elections.

Mr Burnham, trying to win over undecided voters after Nigel Farage called for “outrage” over the death of Henry Nowak, sidestepped questions about allegations of two-tier policing.

Instead, he noted his relationship with Greater Manchester Police chief constable Sir Stephen Watson, saying he “wanted to ensure the police were seen as impartial and served all communities, so I supported him”.

He also suggested the law should be reviewed after the teenager was stabbed to death by a man who claimed he carried the knife for religious reasons because he was Sikh.

Asked whether he would support banning people from carrying knives for religious reasons, Mr Burnham said: “I think there’s a case for looking at that again. But it needs a very careful debate.”

He warned that anti-racism guidance “doesn’t get it right” after the National Police Chiefs’ Council announced it would review guidance advising police to treat ethnic minorities differently to get better outcomes.

“I think it’s right for the government to review this… because I don’t think this guidance that’s been issued on the police racing action plan has done that right,” Mr Burnham said.

Mr Kenyon, who appeared on the same programme, said he would “not accept” being labeled a sexist.

He has faced criticism over past social media comments, including his stance against Brexit and abortion.

But some viewers had a hard time, including one who said: “I’d rather have a career as a politician than a sexist plumber,” referring to Mr. Kenyon’s profession.

Mr Kenyon insisted he “will not accept that label, so a lot of things were said 15 years ago. I put my hands up, I made mistakes…

“I was raised by women. I have nothing but respect for women.”

However, when challenged, he refused to apologize to Carol Vorderman.

In posts made between 2020 and 2022 on a now-deleted account

In one post, the account shared a sexually explicit post sent to Ms. Vorderman on her birthday, in which another user declared to the presenter that he wanted to perform a sexual act.

The Reform candidate said he “didn’t actually say anything to Carol. I commented on a comment,” but added that it was a “disgusting comment written by someone else” and that he was making a “rude joke” that “isn’t something I would say right now.”

In the Survation poll, which had a sample size of 518, Restore Britain’s Rebecca Shepherd received 8 per cent, the Green Party’s Sarah Wakefield received 2 per cent, and the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives received 1 per cent.