Liverpool’s mayor has heaped pain on Keir Starmer by insisting Andy Burnham could do a better job as Labour leader.
Steve Rotheram stressed ‘we have a PM at the moment’ and ‘we are supporting’ Sir Keir.
But in an interview at party conference, he swiped that his fellow mayor – widely regarded as being on manoeuvres – was ‘refreshing’.
And he warned that it will be ‘difficult’ for Sir Keir to lead Labour into the next election if things do not improve.
The comments came as the premier struggles to stabilise his government amid disastrous polls and fears of looming tax rises.
Liverpool’s mayor has heaped pain on Keir Starmer (pictured) by insisting Andy Burnham could do a better job as Labour leader
Steve Rotheram stressed ‘we have a PM at the moment’ and ‘we are supporting’ Sir Keir
Asked if he would like to see Mr Burnham become PM, Mr Rotheram said: ‘Well, he’s my best mate, so I always think that my mates can do a better job than anyone because they’re my mates, whether it’s playing football or politics.
‘But we’ve got a prime minister at the moment and we’re supporting – both of us are supporting – Keir Starmer as our prime minister and we want the Labour Party to do well.’
Mr Rotheram said the Manchester mayor had a similar appeal to Nigel Farage, saying the country ‘needs more people who are prepared to forgo the niceties of political debate’.
Pressed on whether Sir Keir could continue in his post, Mr Rotheram said: ‘It depends on the progress we make. This has been the difficult period, and any PM would have faced the the hurdles that we’ve had.
‘If we carry on like this, then it’s going to be difficult…
‘If we start to enter the campaign towards the 2029 election and are miles behind, we have to reassess who should be best to lead us… but now, yes, Keir Starmer should lead us into the next election.
‘Any PM who wants support from his party or her party needs to show that they’re the right person when there’s an election called, and we’re not having an election for a few years yet.
‘If we start to see progress and hope restored to the electorate, he would be the ideal person. In other words we need the government to get on and deliver.’
Greater Manchester mayor Mr Burnham is widely regarded as being on leadership manoeuvres
