LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) – Labour mayor Andy Burnham signalled on Thursday he would run in any leadership race against Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying that if he won a local election later this month he would seek to join any challenge against the British leader.
Speaking in a BBC debate with other contenders in an election to a parliamentary seat in northern England, Greater Manchester mayor Burnham said the governing Labour Party, which is trailing in opinion polls, needed a fundamental change.
Starmer, whose popularity ratings are some of the lowest for a British leader, has vowed to fight to keep his job, but potential rivals are circling him, including Burnham and former health minister Wes Streeting, who resigned last month in protest at the prime minister’s record.
Asked about his ambitions, Burnham, who lost two earlier attempts to become Labour leader, said he did not want to get “ahead of himself”, acknowledging he must first win the election in Makerfield on June 18 to be able to challenge Starmer.
“I can’t do anything unless I’m lucky enough to get the support of people here (in Makerfield). But if I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level,” he said in the debate.
He said he thought Streeting seemed to have already “launched a leadership contest”, something the former health minister has not yet done formally.
“So if that is running, I would seek to join it. But I’d have to persuade members of the parliamentary Labour Party to do the same. So that’s the only question,” Burnham said.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, editing by Kate Holton)
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