However, Reform UK has surged in popularity in the constituency and its leader, Nigel Farage, has pledged to “throw absolutely everything” at the race.
Burnham said he would ask the NEC for permission to run, and made a coded reference to his leadership ambitions, saying that he hoped to “change Labour for the better” and “make it a party you can believe in again”.
He pledged to deploy his own brand of Labour politics and economic recovery, dubbed “Manchesterism”, nationwide.
He said, “There is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.”
Burnham is regarded as the Labour leadership contender most likely to unnerve financial markets. Earlier this year, he said that the UK was too “in hock to the bond markets”, a comment that alarmed investors.
A by-election in Makerfield could be held as early as mid-June, paving the way for a summer leadership challenge against Starmer.
Simons, who served in junior ministerial roles in the Cabinet Office and the Department of Technology, was forced to resign in March over his involvement in an alleged smear campaign against journalists.
However, Burnham’s path to power could be complicated by the success of Reform UK in Makerfield, where it was the runner-up at the last election. It won 50% of the vote in wards there that voted in last week’s local elections, pushing Labour into second place.
Allies of Burnham suggested that he had deliberately chosen a seat threatened by Reform because he hoped to prove he could beat Farage in an election.
Almost 100 MPs, four ex-ministers and Labour’s 11 trade union affiliates have called on Starmer to stand down, but he has insisted he will fight any leadership challenge.
– The Telegraph
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