Starmer Insists He Will Not Walk Away From Prime Minister Role

Keir Starmer has declared he is not ready to quit, insisting he still intends to lead Labour into the next general election despite a deepening rebellion inside his party.

The prime minister faces mounting calls from Labour ranks to step aside after a bruising set of local election results.

Labour’s heavy losses in the 7 May contests prompted almost a quarter of the party’s MPs to urge him to go, while two would-be successors are now openly manoeuvring for position — a bout of instability that has unnerved investors and driven up the government’s borrowing costs.

Mr Starmer said: “I do want to fight the next election. Obviously, I recognise that after the local election results, the elections in Wales and Scotland as well, that the first task is obviously turning things around and making sure that my focus is in the right place.

He also said he would not “walk away” and refused to set any timetable for standing down if Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield bye-election.

His remarks came after Mr Burnham made clear he wants to return to Westminster in order to “change Labour”.

The Greater Manchester mayor is seeking to become Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield bye-election, a route back to parliament that could put him in position to mount a leadership challenge and ultimately seek the keys to No 10.

Mr Burnham said Labour’s offer to voters had “simply not been good enough”.

Andy Burnham said his party’s past offer to voters has ‘simply not been good enough’

Speaking today at a summit in Leeds, England, Mr Burnham said: “I’m clear about what I am offering. If I get to stand, a vote for me will be a vote to change Labour, because Labour needs to change if we are to regain people’s trust.

“It will be a vote to make life more affordable again, a vote to power up places, a vote to reindustrialise.”

He said he was offering a “new path which brings the country back together”, adding: “I know what my party has offered in the past has simply not been good enough.”

At the same time, deputy leader David Lammy said Mr Starmer would not be putting a timetable on his exit.

“There will be no timetable for departure,” Mr Lammy told Sky News, adding that he had spoken to the prime minister twice yesterday.

Wes Streeting has said he plans to challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership if a contest is triggered

As Mr Burnham pursues a Commons seat that could open the door to a challenge, Wes Streeting — who resigned as health minister last week — said on Saturday that he too would enter any formal leadership contest.

Such a contest would be triggered if one MP secures 81 nominations, the equivalent of 20% of elected Labour MPs.

Mr Starmer’s government returns to Westminster with a fresh row over Brexit now flaring among those seeking to unseat him.

Mr Streeting indicated he wants Britain to return to the EU as he confirmed he would run in any Labour leadership contest.

According to the Times, supporters of Mr Burnham are furious with Mr Streeting and believe the move is a deliberate attempt to thrust Brexit back to the forefront in the leave-voting constituency of Makerfield, where the mayor hopes to stand for parliament.

Mr Burnham, for his part, tried over the weekend to play down his own backing for rejoining the trade bloc during a series of media appearances.

He said there was a “long-term case” for advocating a return to the EU, but stressed that he was not campaigning on the issue in the bye-election.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy criticised her former colleague Mr Streeting for putting Europe at the heart of his leadership pitch, calling it “odd”.

“If rejoining the EU is the answer, then essentially what we’re saying to people is, ‘life was fine in 2015, we just need to go back there’,” added Ms Nandy, who is regarded as an ally of the Greater Manchester mayor.

Read more: Why Britain has turned on its cautious prime minister

Reform UK, which finished second in Makerfield, is expected to seize on Mr Burnham’s past support for rejoining the EU as it campaigns in the constituency.

Several media outlets reported that Nigel Farage had labelled the Greater Manchester mayor “open borders Burnham”, a sign that the Reform leader intends to focus on what future EU membership could mean for inward migration to the UK.

“Andy Burnham’s position raises serious questions. At a time when millions of voters are demanding control of our borders, he continues to advocate re-joining a European project built around the free movement of 500 million people,” Mr Farage told the Daily Express.

Mr Starmer, who is reported to have spent the weekend at his Chequers country estate, is said to be privately weighing whether he would fight challenges to his leadership, even after publicly insisting that he would.

Ms Nandy appeared to stray from the government’s line that Mr Starmer would face down his rivals when she spoke to broadcasters yesterday morning, telling the BBC: “It’s a very personal decision for him.”

She later added: “So, I wouldn’t write off the prime minister, but I would just say that this is a very personal decision.

“He’s got to make that decision himself.”

Additional reporting Reuters