Labour plot to oust Starmer gathers tempo: Andy Burnham refuses to rule out difficult PM and thanks insurgent for supply to QUIT so he could make Commons comeback

Andy Burnham today stopped short of ruling out a return to the Commons so he can challenge struggling Keir Starmer.

The Manchester Mayor is at the centre of renewed speculation after a rebel MP dramatically offered to give up his seat.

Left-winger Clive Lewis said yesterday that he does not believe the PM can recover from dire polls, with a disastrous Budget and local elections looming.

Asked about the suggestion this morning, Mr Burnham said he ‘appreciated the support’.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he was ‘fully focused on my role as Mayor of Greater Manchester’ – but repeatedly avoided dismissing the idea.

Pressed on whether he might make a comeback, Mr Burnham moaned that ‘part of the country’s problem is the political culture of Westminster’.

The latest manoeuvring came as a YouGov poll found Sir Keir’s personal ratings have hit a new record low of minus 54.    

The sense of turmoil at the heart of Government has been growing after an extraordinary pre-emptive strike against the PM’s Cabinet rivals backfired. 

The premier was left defending his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney when Health Secretary Wes Streeting publicly attacked No10’s ‘toxic culture’ and ‘self-destruction’.

It then emerged that Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves had performed a shambolic U-turn on plans to increase income tax at the Budget, despite weeks of blatant hints.

The chaos appeared to prompt Angela Rayner to give an interview to the Mirror at the weekend, as allies hope she can make a return. 

Sir Keir’s allies have been arguing there is no viable successor, with growing numbers of critics unable to unite around an alternative candidate.

There are claims that more than 80 MPs are ready to support an effort to oust the PM – which would meet the threshold for triggering a contest. 

Some ministers are now said to regard Sir Keir being replaced as ‘inevitable’. 

Manchester Mayor Mr Burnham is still often touted as a successor, despite a humiliating implosion at a Labour conference after he hinted at making a run.

After maintaining his silence yesterday, Mr Burnham was unveiling plans on affordable housing this morning.

He said of Mr Lewis’s offer: ‘I appreciate the support but I couldn’t have brought forward a plan of the kind that I have brought forward today without being fully focused on my role as mayor of Greater Manchester.

‘And I am providing leadership on growth which is what I think the country needs, and is helpful to the country right now.

‘We’re doing this in advance of the Budget I hope to really bring to life the growth story for the government.’

Mr Burnham added: ‘I think part of the country’s problem is the political culture of Westminster which is playing out in front of us right now.

‘In Greater Manchester we’ve built a new economy and a new way of doing politics, and more of that is what the country needs.’

On BBC Breakfast Mr Burnham said he ‘wouldn’t rule out what might or might not happen in the future’. ‘I don’t know what the future will hold,’ he added.

Pushed again to rule out a leadership challenge, Mr Burnham said: ‘I am not in a position this morning to do that.

‘The questions you are always asked on these things – how do you answer them?

He added: ‘All I can do is be here, present in the here and now, and do my job for Greater Manchester.

‘The country is crying out for a plan for growth that benefits people, reduces the cost of living.

‘We have got more functional in Greater Manchester as the country has got more dysfunctional, and maybe it is that Westminster politics is the problem, and the type of questions you have been putting at me.’

Mr Burnham also took a potshot at Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s plan to block refugees from permanent settlement in the UK for 20 years,

‘I have concerns about that particular element of the plans,’ he said.

‘I think it will leave people in a position where they don’t know whether they’re staying or potentially leaving, and particularly in situations where people are wanting to work, wanting to contribute, I think, it would be better to stick with the decision of long-term leave to remain.

‘From my point of view, there are other major changes, though, that the system needs.’

Appearing on the BBC’s Politics Live yesterday, Mr Lewis confirmed he had spoken to Mr Burnham – but refused to say whether he knew he was ‘up for’ challenging.

Asked if he would give up his own Norwich South constituency so Mr Burnham could run, Mr Lewis said: ‘It’s a question I’ve asked myself… I’d have to consult with my wife… but if I’m going to sit here and say, country before party, party before personal ambition, then yes I have to say yes don’t I.’

Pressed that he was saying he would give up his seat for Mr Burnham, the Labour MP replied: ‘I would.’

Mr Lewis is the only MP so far to say publicly that Sir Keir should go.

Mr Streeting waded into the row yesterday saying Mr Lewis’s offer was ‘peculiar’ and could undermine his support from local constituents.

But the Labour left-winger hit back on X: ‘Of course he finds it peculiar. Self-sacrifice, hypothetical or not, is foreign to the self-serving. 

‘I love my city and my constituents. But the authoritarian right is an existential threat. We need the best chance of turning this around. That’s Andy, not Wes.’