Streeting gears up for fight against Burnham in possible Labour leadership contest

Wes Streeting is preparing to take on Andy Burnham in a potential Labor leadership contest; although he backed her to return to Westminster and win a by-election that could challenge Sir Keir’s premiership.

The former health secretary has argued that the mayor of Greater Manchester should be allowed to take part in the upcoming Makerfield race, saying Labor needs “our best players on the field”.

But despite the former health minister’s allies throwing their weight behind his rival Independent that he would appear as a leadership candidate in any contest.

If successful, Mr Burnham is expected to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the No.10 spot.

In a post on social media on Friday, Mr Streeting wrote: “The Makerfield by-election will be tough. Votes will need to be won. Andy has the best chance of winning and this must override factional advantage or favor one person.”

Mr Streeting’s allies later confirmed this. Independent: “When the contest comes, Wes will be the nominee.”

As Mr Streeting left the Cabinet on Thursday, he said he had “lost confidence” in the Prime Minister, ending days of speculation and calling for a contest for the Labor leadership.

He will make his first speech as a backbencher at the Progress conference on Saturday, which many see as his first real leadership address to voters.

Sir Keir’s former ally Josh Simons, who was recently forced to resign as a minister, stunned colleagues and paved the way to challenge the prime minister by resigning as an MP on Thursday to allow Mr Burnham to take the seat of Makerfield.

Meanwhile, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner announced that tax issues were resolved with HMRC; this was seen by many as an obstacle to the goal of leadership; but later suggested he might support Mr Burnham rather than run for office himself.

But the Greater Manchester mayor’s return to Westminster will not be easy as Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) must decide whether to allow him to stand.

If the committee, which is due to meet tomorrow, confirms him as a candidate, he will face a tough fight against Reform England, which came second in the previous general election and made significant gains in the region in last week’s disastrous local elections.

Speaking at the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) conference on Friday, Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell said “absolutely no attempt will be made” to prevent Mr Burnham from becoming the Labor Party candidate in the by-election.

“We need to do our politics differently. We need to end factionalism. We need to embrace all the different traditions of the Labor Party, all the different voices, and put a team back together, and that means Andy Burnham being a key player in that team,” he said.

“I supported Andy the last time he wanted to return to parliament and I fully support him wanting to return to parliament again.

“And to be clear, I have it on good authority that there will be no attempt to stop him from doing it again, so I’m confident we’ll have him as the nominee.”

His previous bid to stand in a by-election in Gorton and Denton was rejected by the NEC’s civil servants committee, which included Sir Keir.

Ms Powell also appealed to the FBU for their support in the by-election, admitting it would be “difficult” for Labor to beat Reform.

He said: “I’ll ask you, especially those in and around Manchester: This is going to be a tough by-election for us to win against Reformation and if Andy is chosen as a candidate in the coming days – let’s see what happens there – we’re going to need all of your help in this by-election.

“So if you come and help us, I think it would be really great.”

This month’s local elections saw Reform win all council areas in the Makerfield constituency and take around half the vote, while Labor won just over a quarter.

But Mr Burnham can benefit from his strong personal following in the North West, where he has a net favorability rating of 24 per cent, much higher than party leaders or Labor itself, according to pollster Ipsos.

Speaking to BBC Manchester on Friday, Mr Simons admitted the contest would be “a really tough challenge” and added he did not know what the outcome would be.

He said: “Sometimes in history when people take risks and say, ‘I think this is the right fight, but I don’t know if we can win,’ that’s what changes the story. That’s what changes the course of things.”

The election could also be expensive, especially given that a victory for Mr Burnham would trigger another by-election for the mayor of Greater Manchester.

A by-election in Makerfield alone could cost the taxpayer up to £226,000, while a mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester would cost millions and the 2024 mayoral race would cost the taxpayer £4.7 million.