Angela Rayner has ‘done a deal’ to be Andy Burnham‘s running mate if he launches a leadership bid against the Prime Minister, sources have claimed.
Labour MPs backing Mr Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, say Ms Rayner has agreed to support his bid in return for her old job as Deputy Prime Minister, plus an unspecified senior Cabinet position.
Mr Burnham has been searching for a safe Labour seat in the North to allow him to enter the Commons and challenge Sir Keir Starmer.
Last week, The Mail on Sunday reported his Commons allies as saying they have found a seat which is ‘likely to come free’ in the coming months – and which polling suggests that the so-called King Of The North should win.
The seat was not identified, but sources say Mr Burnham has been talking to MPs in safe seats in Liverpool who might be prepared to stand aside, and been keeping a close eye on the Manchester seat held by Andrew Gwynne, who has been suspended from the Labour Party for sending racist and sexist messages. Mr Gwynne has said he does not plan to stand down.
This newspaper has been told Mr Burnham held discussions with Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden over his seat, which he holds with a 20,245 majority. But sources said yesterday that the talks ‘just didn’t go anywhere’.
Ms Rayner’s backing would be a boost for Mr Burnham as the former Deputy PM – who has not ruled out her own leadership bid – enjoys strong support from Labour members who would vote in the contest.
A Labour MP backing Mr Burnham said: ‘My understanding is that the deal has been done. Angie would go back to being deputy and get a plum Cabinet job.’
Labour MPs backing Mr Burnham (right), the Mayor of Manchester, say Ms Rayner (left) has agreed to support his bid in return for her old job as Deputy Prime Minister
It would be seen as a blow to the leadership hopes of Health Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) after reports that his allies had made their own ‘joint ticket’ approach to Ms Rayner
It would also be seen as a major blow to the leadership hopes of Health Secretary Wes Streeting after reports that his allies had made their own ‘joint ticket’ approach to Ms Rayner.
Some senior Labour figures worry about the ‘optics’ of the move, given that both Mr Burnham and Ms Rayner come from the North West. But that would be resolved if Ms Rayner, who is under threat from Reform in her Ashton-under-Lyne seat, decided to mount a ‘chicken run’ to a safe Labour seat in the South East, close to her new £800,000 flat in Hove.
Ms Rayner’s allies previously said she was resisting an offer by Sir Keir to bring her back as Education Secretary. Last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave Mr Burnham a thinly-veiled warning, saying: ‘He said when he stood for mayor that he would serve a full term and I think that is the right thing to do.’
A spokesman for Mr Burnham dismissed reports of a deal with Ms Rayner or approaches to sitting Labour MPs as ‘rubbish’.
A source close to Ms Rayner said: ‘There is no vacancy and there is no pact.’
