LABOUR’S civil war has reignited as Sir Keir Starmer was told to “read the room” after Andy Burnham’s by-election victory.
The Prime Minister was ordered to reflect on Mr Burnham’s victory after the self- styled “King in the North” took 55 per cent of the vote and saw off Reform.
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Former Cabinet Minister Louise Haigh, a firm Burnham ally, has told the PM to ‘do what’s best for the country’ Credit: Oldham Council
Senior Labour figures are expected to speak to the PM over the weekend in a bid to set out a dignified plan to exit Number 10 – otherwise resignations could force his hand.
In his victory speech Burnham urged his party to act now, saying there would be no second chance.
In a direct message to Labour MPs he added: “I do say to my own party: ‘this is a final chance to change.’
“This is what people said directly to me on the hundreds of doorsteps that I stood on. We must hear it, we must act upon it and we must get it right.”
RED ON RED
From all-out civil war to PM quitting…. how Keir vs Burnham could unfold
BURN NOTICE
Burnham wins Makerfield to set up Keir showdown & summer of Labour civil war
Stubborn Sir Keir has vowed to fight any leadership challenge as he is pictured sneaking out the back of Downing Street Credit: Tayfun Salci
Andy Burnham stormed ahead in the by-election and is now set to challenge Keir for the top job Credit: AP
Sir Keir has insisted he will fight any attempt to challenge him and has been building up a war chest for the leadership campaign.
But Mr Burnham’s supporters want the Prime Minister to set out an “orderly and managed transition” of power.
Former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said she hoped Sir Keir will “do what’s best for both the country and the Labour Party“.
Patrick Hurley, Labour MP for Southport, also called on Sir Keir to recognise that his time in Number 10 is coming to an end.
He told the BBC: “Right now, we need a transition to something new.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who is a close ally to Mr Burnham, said “there will be a conversation” with the Prime Minister over the course of the weekend but added: “That’s not for tonight.”
What happens next?
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
ANDY Burnham has won the Makerfield by-election and the fight for No10 is about to begin. Here are the four ways Labour’s summer civil war could play out.
STARMER QUITSThe Prime Minister and Andy Burnham have a conversation over the course of the weekend and Sir Keir concludes the game is up. He announces a resignation – with Mr Burnham potentially becoming leader after a short contest or a coronation.Likelihood rating: 1 out of 5.Sir Keir has repeatedly vowed to fight any leadership challenge and recent reports revealed he has amassed a six-figure war chest to fund his campaign.
ORDERLY TRANSITIONThe pair could strike a deal – with the PM agreeing to stand down after Labour conference in September. This would allow Mr Burnham to prepare for power and spare the party an all-out war.Likelihood rating: 2 out of 5.Andy Burnham and many Cabinet ministers would prefer this option. But it would leave Sir Keir a lame duck and he may struggle to accept such a public timetable for his own departure.
STARMER DIGS IN AND THEN FALLSThe PM refuses to budge and dares Mr Burnham or other leadership hopefuls to force him out. But Cabinet ministers, junior ministers and MPs ramp up the pressure. Resignations start and the Prime Minister eventually finds himself unable to carry on – in a similar way to what happened to former Tory PM Boris Johnson.Mr Burnham inherits the wreckage and enters No10.Likelihood rating: 4 out of 5.The Prime Minister has not shown any sign of wanting to quit or agree to a timetable for his own departure. His allies insist he is not bluffing when he says he will not go down easy.
ALL-OUT LEADERSHIP WARSir Keir refuses to quit and Mr Burnham secures enough support to challenge him. Wes Streeting and others pile in. Labour spends months tearing itself apart while Reform looks on. Mr Burnham eventually wins, but emerges bruised and with a divided party.Likelihood: 3 out of 5.Mr Burnham’s camp want to avoid this but they may have underestimated Sir Keir’s determination to stay.
Asked if she will resign to heap pressure on the PM to quit, Ms Nandy said: “I’m not going to resign, of course not.
“I’d never walk away from the promise that we made to the people of this country until we’ve delivered it.”
Luke Charters, Labour MP for York today told LBC: “I think it’d be good this weekend for the PM to take heed of what was an absolutely seismic and colossal message here … I think the prime minister should look at that
“The PM’s got to really quickly reflect on and read the room here on what’s happening here in Makerfield.”
James Hurley, MP for Southport, said the Labour party needed ‘a transition to something new’ Credit: The Times
Jon Trickett, Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, has joined the growing chorus of voices calling for a change in leadership Credit: AFP
Luke Charters, Labour MP for York, urged the embattled PM to read the room Credit: PA
Meanwhile Labour MP Mike Tapp said that it would become hard “not to call a general election” with Labour’s agenda moving too far away from its manifesto.
And Unite boss Sharon Graham said: “The win for Andy Burnham in Makerfield is a glimmer of hope but it must not be taken as a business-as-usual mandate.
“It is clear that there now needs to be an orderly timetable for a leadership election and Keir Starmer must do the right thing and step down.”
Another trade union boss, and Labour Party ally, Maryam Eslamdoust, branded Andy Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election a “mandate for change … right at the top of the Labour Party.”
The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) chief said: “Time is running short and a change of direction at the very top is needed if Labour is to rebuild trust and have any realistic prospect of success at the next general election.”
Meanwhile Jon Trickett, Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, told Times Radio Sir Keir Starmer needs to “stand down in a dignified and graceful way.”
He added that it would be “humiliating for a sitting prime minister to lose the vote of his own party.”
He continued: I think the Labour Party really is in the last chance saloon, but this is a big opportunity now.
“The people of Makerfield have indicated that they don’t want Farage and his party. They’re prepared to give Labour a chance.
“But look Andy’s got to really really deliver and it’s a big majority of 9,000 in a by-election. that is a sizable almost seismic result in a by-election.”
Dissenters have also branded Sir Keir Starmer’s defenders as “tone deaf” for encouraging Andy Burnham not to launch a leadership campaign.
Sarah Owen, the Labour MP for Luton North, said: “The PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party], the public and clearly voters are wanting to see the change that Andy Burnham represents.
“We really need to be able to see party change as well.”
She accused Steve Reed, the housing secretary and a keen suppporter of the PM, of being “tone deaf” when defending Starmer.
Was Andy Burnham’s biggest ally in Makerfield Sir Keir Starmer?
By Martina Bet, Chief Political Correspondent
ANDY Burnham’s biggest ally in Makerfield wasn’t Greater Manchester. It was Sir Keir Starmer.
The Prime Minister has become so unpopular that a vote for Mr Burnham undeniably became, for many, a vote to get rid of the man in No10.
And Mr Burnham won comfortably.
His 24,927 votes put Reform’s Rob Kenyon more than 9,000 behind, with Rupert Lowe’s Restore failing to play spoiler.
Rebecca Shepard’s 3,111 votes made less difference than many expected.
Even if every one had gone to Reform, the Greater Manchester Mayor still wins.
For Nigel Farage’s party, there may now be some uncomfortable questions.
Makerfield was one of Reform’s best second places in 2024, and Wigan had turned turquoise in May’s local elections.
Yet despite Labour’s troubles, the party failed to break through, while the emergence of Restore showed the challenge of holding together the Right as well as broadening its appeal.
Burnham’s camp also had one thing above all else in common over the past five weeks: winning the by-election .
That shared purpose kept everyone pulling in the same direction, from Blue Labour figures to the soft-left of the party.
Nobody cared about ideological differences because there was a bigger prize at stake.
But removing a Prime Minister is one thing while running the country is another.
Sir Keir had four years to prepare for government and still arrived in Downing Street looking like a man without a plan.
Burnham’s team has had five weeks.
His victory speech was heavy on “hope”, “unity” and “change” and understandably so; elections are won on broad themes.
But as the dawn breaks today, the questions are just going to get harder.
What is Burnhamism? Who pays for it? Which side wins the arguments inside his camp?
Makerfield was the easy bit. Proving you can govern Britain better is something else entirely.
