Andy Burnham has said Britain needs “wholesale change” in his biggest challenge yet to Sir Keir Starmer, warning the prime minister that he risks handing the keys to Number 10 to Nigel Farage without a major change of course.
The Greater Manchester mayor and former cabinet minister comes into the crucial Labour conference with supporters talking up his prospects as a leader and potential prime minister for the party.
And his message, in an interview in The New Statesman, comes as Sir Keir continues to falter in the polls, with Labour MPs openly questioning whether he can continue if the party has another poor set of elections next May.
But with anger over attempts to cut welfare for the disabled and a push to end the two child benefit cap, Mr Burnham’s message looks set to resonate at the conference.
In what appeared to be a challenge to the party leadership, he said: “I’m going to put the question back to people at Labour conference: are we up for that wholesale change? Because I think that’s what the country needs.”
He also noted that a reshuffle was not enough, suggesting that “it can’t be just a changing of the guard: you have got to change the whole culture and… are people up for that?”
He warned against opening the door to the prospect of “a government of the like we’ve never seen before in the shape of Reform”, with Farage’s party consistently beating Labour in the polls.
Mr Burnham’s friend and ally Lucy Powell also appears to be on course to winning the deputy leadership after she was sacked from the cabinet by Sir Keir in the recent reshuffle.
Ms Powell has become the focal point of the anti-Starmer vote, with education secretary Bridget Phillipson currently seen as the leadership’s favoured candidate.
But rebels have also made it clear that they are willing to work with Mr Burnham including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell who is currently suspended from the parliamentary party.
And Mr Burnham’s words appeared to fire up his supporters including York Central MP Rachael Maskell who was recently suspended from the parliamentary party after leading the welfare cuts rebellion.
She told The Independent: “I have long known Andy, and he is someone who really engages and is in step with the community. If you look at his record in Government, and of course as Mayor of Manchester, you can see the impact that his creative style of leadership has delivered, on really reforming services, bringing economic growth and embracing political and wider diversity.
“Having supported Andy in 2015, I think he would make an outstanding leader for our country.”
However, others warned against simple solutions.
Bassetlaw MP Jo White, chair of the influential red wall group, said: “Anyone who thinks there is a simple solution that just changing the leader to take on the rise of Reform is dangerously deluded.”
She also noted that there are no by-elections planned at the moment for Mr Burnham to make a return to parliament.
Dame Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, noted of Burnham’s comments: “These are sweeping statements. They’d be more interesting with some substantive proposals. Otherwise its just fighting.”
MPs are looking for someone who can bring an authentic voice to socialism in taking on Nigel Farage and Reform UK who were eight points ahead of Labour in a YouGov poll this week.
And Mr Burnham is set to take part in a major event at the conference on a panel with other rebels including MPs Clive Lewis, Nadia Whittome MP, and Rachael Maskell MP under the title “Winning A Decade of National Renewal.”
