Rachel Reeves today suggested Andy Burnham should stick to his current job when asked about ‘rumours swirling round at the moment’ about a possible ‘leadership bid’.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham claims Labour MPs want him to launch a leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer, who faces a major bout of party infighting.
The Chancellor appeared to take a swipe at the Greater Manchester mayor following his headline-grabbing intervention earlier in the week.
Speaking ahead of the Labour conference in Liverpool, Ms Reeves described Mr Burnham as a ‘great mayor’ who is doing a ‘great job in Manchester’.
She told broadcasters: ‘He committed to serve a full term as mayor of Greater Manchester.
‘Keir Starmer won the general election last year, and he will get on and do that job, and I’ll get on with my job as well, being Chancellor of the Exchequer.’
Sir Keir said Labour had to ‘unite and fight’, amid speculation that Mr Burnham could mount a leadership challenge.
Labour chairwoman Anna Turley acknowledged it had been ‘quite a challenging couple of weeks’ for the party.
Rachel Reeves appeared to take a swipe at the Greater Manchester mayor following his headline-grabbing intervention earlier in the week.
Andy Burnham arrives for a Radio programme in Manchester on Thursday as speculation mounts he could be a contender for the Labour leadership
A Savanta survey, conducted on behalf of The House magazine, found 28 per cent of voters thought Mr Burnham would be better than Sir Keir as PM
But said that many more MPs are ‘frustrated’ that their colleagues are already trying to topple Sir Keir.
Meanwhile, other political parties offer ‘the politics of division’, Ms Reeves said, adding that the Labour party ‘believe that people have more in common than that which divides us’.
Sir Keir claimed Reform UK wanted to ‘tear our country apart’ ahead of the annual Labour conference set to be dominated by questions over how to respond to Nigel Farage’s party.
The prime minister is under pressure with Labour trailing behind Reform in opinion polls and some within the party uneasy about Labour’s direction under his leadership.
As he arrived in Liverpool for the conference, Sir Keir said it would be an opportunity to show Labour’s alternative to the ‘toxic divide and decline’ offered by Reform.
Sir Keir said Reform’s plans to remove indefinite leave to remain for legal migrants as ‘one of the most shocking things’ Mr Farage’s party had come out with.
During a visit to the Liverpool Echo’s office, he said: ‘I think it is a real sign of just how divisive they are and that their politics and their policies will tear this country apart.’
Later, arriving at the conference centre in Liverpool with his wife Lady Victoria, he said the gathering, which officially starts on Sunday, was a ‘really big opportunity to make our case to the country, make it absolutely clear that patriotic national renewal is the way forward, not the toxic divide and decline that we get with Reform’.
The latest polling has placed Nigel Farage as the most likely politician to be the next prime minister, with Reform currently on track to win the most parliamentary seats if an election were held, according to YouGov.
In a message aimed at rallying a divided Labour against Reform, Sir Keir told the Guardian: ‘History will not forgive us if we do not use every ounce of our energy to fight Reform. There is an enemy. There is a project which is detrimental to our country.
‘It actually goes against the grain of our history. It’s right there in plain sight in front of us. We have to win this battle.’
Sir Keir Starmer claimed Reform UK wanted to ‘tear our country apart’ ahead of the annual Labour conference set to be dominated by questions over how to respond to Nigel Farage’s party
Ahead of the Labour conference, backbench MPs and unions renewed calls to end the two-child benefit cap.
Both candidates for Labour’s deputy leadership have signalled their opposition to the cap, while the Prime Minister has not ruled out scrapping it.
Seven rebel MPs has the Labour whip suspended in July last year after they back an SNP motion calling for an end to the two-child benefit cap.
Ian Byrne, Richard Burgon, Imran Hussein and Rebecca Long-Bailey – had the whip reinstated six months later. While
It is understood John McDonnell and Apsana Begum suspensions ended on Friday following discussions with the chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds.
The seventh rebel, Zarah Sultana, subsequently resigned her membership to co-found a new left-wing party with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Several MPs from Liverpool, the host city of the conference, were among those who wrote to the Prime Minister ahead of the gathering insisting the cap ‘is one of the most significant drivers of child poverty in Britain today’.
Debate over the future of the cap is among a number of areas of benefits policy where ministers could be challenged by Labour members in Liverpool.
Among those who have previously called for it to go is Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader who is the frontrunner in the race to become the next Labour deputy leader.
Labour MPs forced a U-turn on Sir Keir’s plans to cut the benefits bill earlier this year.
But in a hint that ministers are willing to return to the battle, Darren Jones, the PM’s chief secretary and a senior Cabinet Office minister, told the Telegraph that the benefits bill is ‘unsustainable in the long run’.
Sir Keir’s plans for a new digital ID system, unveiled at a conference of centre-left leaders in London on Friday, will also likely face scrutiny at the conference.
Senior Labour figures are meanwhile expected to set out the details of a fresh tranche of ‘New Towns’ at the event.
