‘It’s all on the King of the North’: The Greater Manchester mayor is rumoured to be getting ready for a leadership campaign in a bid to take over from Sir Keir Starmer
12:25, 13 Sep 2025Updated 16:59, 13 Sep 2025
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham(Image: Manchester Evening News)
His name has been plastered all over the press this week as whispers of his return to Westminster become louder by the day.
The rumours Andy Burnham is getting ready to challenge Sir Keir Starmer and try to take over as Labour Party leader are everywhere.
It comes after a chaotic couple of weeks for the government, which has seen Angela Rayner resign over a tax row, triggering a cabinet reshuffle and resulting in a deputy leadership contest in the party. With Ms Rayner out of the way, the path for his return has opened up.
“Angela was the argument that we didn’t need Andy,” a source on the left of the party told the Manchester Evening News following the Ashton-under-Lyne MP’s resignation last Friday (September 5). “Now she’s stepped down, it’s all on the King of the North.”
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme last week, Mr Burnham had his say on the upcoming deputy leader contest.
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“Obviously, I’m biased, but you know somebody from these parts I think would be great,” he said, suggesting some possible names.
The following day, the Greater Manchester mayor helped launch a new group described as the ‘new home for Labour’s radical realists’.
Mainstream, which has been backed by figures from across the party, says it wants to champion a vision to ‘transform the country’ and help Labour win the next election – and it has already put forward a number of policies including the introduction of wealth taxes.
The organisation, which Mr Burnham appears to be fronting, is widely seen as a vehicle for him to mount a leadership campaign.
On Thursday (September 11), the group raised eyebrows after its national coordinator, Luke Hurst, issued a blistering statement.
Following the resignation of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, a day after the Prime Minister defended the appointment despite his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffery Epstein, Mr Hurst accused Sir Keir of running a ‘narrow and brittle political project’.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has had a rocky relationship with Sir Keir(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
The words did not come from Mr Burnham, but as a group backed by the Labour mayor, it was seen as a direct challenge to Sir Keir.
The mayor has also been taking on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the media this week, criticising the party’s announcement that it would scrap Northern Powerhouse Rail, including the new train line between Manchester and Liverpool.
It’s no surprise the Labour politician who has lobbied hard for the project would be highly critical of Reform’s proposal.
But it was also an opportunity for him to prove that he can take on Reform, which is currently polling ahead of Labour nationally.
A YouGov poll last month found that one in five Britons believe Mr Burnham has the potential to be a ‘great’ or ‘good’ Prime Minister.
The only politician who scored better was Mr Farage. Meanwhile, a poll by Ipsos and another by Survation for LabourList found the Greater Manchester mayor was the most popular pick for Labour leader among the public and the party’s membership respectively.
With Angela Rayner out of the way, the path has opened up for Andy Burnham(Image: James Manning/PA Wire)
With Ms Rayner now out of the way, Mr Burnham appears to be the obvious candidate to succeed Sir Keir should the opportunity arise.
Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell, a close ally of Mr Burnham who was sacked by Sir Keir as the leader of the House of Commons last week during the reshuffle, has now been nominated to proceed to the next stage in the race for Labour’s deputy leader contest.
The contest – in which education secretary Bridget Phillipson is also standing – is billed as a battle between Mr Burnham and Sir Keir.
Some commentators suspect that, by supporting Ms Powell, Mr Burnham is laying the groundwork for his own leadership campaign.
However, before Mr Burnham has any chance of running to become Labour leader, he would need to overcome several hurdles.
To run for Labour leader, Mr Burnham would first need to become an MP. And if he became an MP, he would need to resign as mayor.
Mr Burnham would have to become an MP before having any hope of taking over as Labour leader(Image: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
Mr Burnham would therefore have to find a parliamentary seat to stand in – and be selected as the Labour Party candidate there.
All eyes are now on Andrew Gwynne, the Gorton and Denton MP who was suspended by the Labour Party earlier this year.
Mr Gwynne, who is now an independent MP, has not given any indication that he will stand down before the next general election.
However, the long-standing MP has historically had a close relationship with Mr Burnham so may be inclined to help him out.
With the Labour Party conference now coming up, all eyes will be on the Greater Manchester mayor and his leadership ambitions.
And while he has repeatedly dismissed suggestions that he intends to return to Westminster, the rumours will continue regardless.