Sir Keir Starmer has declared he will not resign as Prime Minister and intends to contest any Labour leadership challenge triggered by Andy Burnham.
Speaking on Friday morning, Starmer congratulated Burnham following his emphatic by-election victory in Makerfield over Reform UK, while making his own position crystal clear.
“I’m not going to walk away from that,” Starmer told broadcasters, referring directly to the mandate he secured at the 2024 general election.
Starmer described the Makerfield contest as a “real battle of Labour values against divisive Reform values,” framing the result as a broader referendum on the party’s direction.
He also took direct aim at Nigel Farage’s party, declaring: “The tide is turning on Reform. They can’t now win by-elections, they’ve probably reached the peak of their support, it’s going down.”
Burnham’s decisive victory has nonetheless placed Starmer’s leadership under considerable pressure, with scores of Labour backbenchers travelling to Greater Manchester in recent weeks to campaign alongside the former Manchester mayor.
Burnham has publicly confirmed he would enter a leadership contest, though the precise mechanics of how such a race might be triggered remain unclear following his by-election triumph.
Speaking after his victory, Burnham delivered a stark warning, saying Labour was facing its “last chance” to win any election, signalling the urgency he believes surrounds the party’s current trajectory.
Any challenger seeking to remove Starmer would need the backing of at least 81 Labour MPs to trigger a formal contest, with hopefuls then required to secure support from trade unions and the wider party membership to win.
Wes Streeting’s resignation from government has been interpreted by Burnham as opening the door to a contest, with Streeting himself claiming he has the backing of 81 MPs needed to launch a formal challenge.
However, polling suggests Streeting would be unlikely to defeat either Burnham or Starmer if a full leadership race were to take place.
Reports have also emerged that both Shabana Mahmood and Ed Miliband have privately urged Starmer to step down, though both cabinet ministers remain in post for now.
Their potential resignations could deepen instability within the government, compounding last week’s significant blow when John Healey resigned as defence secretary.
Burnham used his victory speech to set out an ambitious and unifying vision, saying: “There is a chance now from this result tonight to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States.”
He added: “We must now take this path and put this country back on the right path, and bring people back together and get things working properly again.”