Could Andy Burnham become prime minister? Five steps to replace Starmer

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is being touted as one of the candidates to replace Sir Keir Starmer if he resigns as Prime Minister.

Mr Burnham has previously indicated he would be willing to oust the current Labor leader. He called for “debate on our direction” at last year’s Labor Party conference and refused to rule out a leadership bid, telling BBC Breakfast in November: “I don’t know what the future holds.”

But as Manchester’s current mayor, who has no parliamentary seat, Mr Burnham faces a potentially rocky route to the top.

These are the steps he must take before becoming Britain’s next prime minister.

empty seat

First of all, there must be a vacant seat in the parliament, and finding this seat may not be easy.

Two by-elections are looming in Scotland after both SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) and SNP MP Stephen Gethins (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry) were elected to Holyrood. Mr Burnham is unlikely to stand in any of the Scottish seats.

In November 2025, Norwich South Labor MP Clive Lewis stated that he would resign on behalf of Mr Burnham.

He told the BBC’s Politics Live program at the time: “If I were to sit here and say country before party, party before personal ambitions, then I’d have to say yes, wouldn’t I?”

However, he has since distanced himself from him, describing such plans as “purely hallucinatory Jackanory” towards X.

Liverpool Labor MP Paula Barker, one of Mr Burnham’s biggest supporters, told BBC Breakfast on Monday “no” when asked if she would stand down to make room for him.

Marie Rimmer, the Labor MP for St Helens South and Whiston, told the Guardian she was “not planning to stand behind anyone” after it was reported her seat was being eyed by Mr Burnham’s allies.

Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee

If a seat becomes vacant, Mr Burnham will need to win over the National Executive Committee (NEC), which is responsible for choosing Labour’s candidates.

In January this year the NEC prevented Mr Burnham from racing in Gorton and Denton.

A group of 10 people, including the prime minister, voted to refuse Mr Burnham permission to stand in the Greater Manchester by-election.

Sir Keir justified the move by arguing that “an election for the Mayor of Manchester when it is not necessary would divert our resources away from the choices we need to make”.

The Prime Minister came under criticism for this decision, especially after Green Party MP Hannah Spencer came first in the competition.

Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell, the only member of the NEC to vote to allow Mr Burnham to stand, said she would “probably keep” the seat.

leadership vote

If Mr Burnham were to be elected to Parliament he would only then be able to run for the leadership of the Labor Party.

According to the Labor Party rulebook, candidates who want to take part in the vote must be MPs.

This is because the leader of the Labor Party is the prime minister and so they must be MPs.

Under current rules, a candidate must be nominated by 20 per cent of their Labor colleagues in Parliament to enter the race.

They also need to be nominated by 5 per cent of Labor Parties (CLPs) in the constituency or at least three affiliates of the party, of which at least two are trade unions.

Summary of required steps