Andy Burnham is poised to throw down the gauntlet to Keir Starmer next week as the Prime Minister struggles to cling to power.
Allies of the Greater Manchester mayor on Friday night said he had identified a potential Westminster seat that would enable him to return to Parliament, opening the way for a leadership bid.
One outrider for Mr Burnham told the Daily Mail: ‘Andy is ready to go and this time he will not be stopped.’
However, Friday’s bloodbath at the ballot box threatens to make it trickier for the former health secretary, as the notion of a ‘safe seat’ dwindles and Labour fears losing Manchester to Reform.
Leadership speculation burst back into life yesterday as Labour looked on course for one of its worst election results in history. The party watched on powerless as Reform UK swept through its English heartlands before it ceded control of Wales after a century in charge and took a battering in Scotland.
In a devastating day for the party which won a landslide general election just two years ago in 2024, it failed to keep hold of many of its flagship councils.
Labour big beasts such as Angela Rayner, Lisa Nandy and Bridget Phillipson saw their local power bases wiped out by Reform as councils that were once red turned turquoise on the electoral map.
Firing a warning shot across her own leadership hopes, Ms Rayner’s Tameside backyard saw Reform win 18 of the 19 seats contested. In the Wigan constituency of Culture Secretary Ms Nandy, 24 of the 25 seats up for grabs went to Nigel Farage’s party.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham arrives at FC United for a charity football match on May 8, the day after the 2026 local elections
Starmer speaks to supporters and councillors following local elections at Kingsdown Methodist Church on May 8
In one of its worst local election showings, Labour also lost control of Wandsworth, Westminster, Hartlepool and Sunderland.
Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan became the highest-profile casualty for Labour as its vote was crushed in Wales.
She called for the Prime Minister to ‘change course’ as she lost her seat in the elections that ended 100 years of Labour’s electoral dominance there.
Sir Keir blocked Mr Burnham from returning to Westminster in February when he ordered Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee to bar him from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
But another sympathetic North West Labour MP is said to be ready to surrender their seat to give Mr Burnham another shot. Mr Burnham’s backers believe Sir Keir is now too weak to block him again.
Labour sources say a string of Cabinet ministers, including Ed Miliband, Ms Nandy and deputy leader Lucy Powell, are willing to warn the PM that they cannot risk trying to stand in his way again.
Allies of Mr Burnham were prominent among those calling for Sir Keir to set out a timetable for departure on Friday.
Veteran Labour MP Graham Stringer said Sir Keir was ‘detested on the doorstep’ and had to go. The 76-year-old has denied he is preparing to step aside for Mr Burnham.
Sir Keir Starmer speaks to members of the media following local elections at Kingsdown Methodist Church on May 8
But he told the Manchester Evening News: ‘I think the Prime Minister should give us a timetable for when he is going. I do not think there is any doubt that he will go. But if a journalist asks him the question he will always say no.
‘He has lost the support of the party and as far as I can tell, the Cabinet as well.’
Andrea Egan, head of the giant Unison union, called for Sir Keir to go as part of a radical change of direction. Ms Egan, who has publicly backed Mr Burnham to take over, said: ‘Labour faces political oblivion because it’s simply not delivering for the majority of people.
‘There’ll clearly be a change of Labour leader sooner or later. But what really needs to change is the fundamental approach: only a Labour government which unashamedly puts the interests of workers before the wealthy can succeed.’
Dave Watts, a former chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, said the ‘leadership question’ had to be ‘confronted head on, without delay’.
In an article for HuffPost UK, Lord Watts said: ‘It’s clear we need a change, and many MPs and Labour voters are looking to the most successful and popular Labour politician, Andy Burnham, to provide that change. I believe that Andy should be allowed to stand in a by-election to boost Labour’s prospects and to provide the leadership needed.’
Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley, long seen as a backer of Angela Rayner, on Friday night weighed in behind Mr Burnham in the wake of ‘truly devastating’ results for Labour in the North of England.
‘Unless that changes significantly and quickly it’s clear the PM can’t lead us into another election,’ she said.
Angela Rayner attends the National Growth Debate at the Institute of Directors on April 21, 2026 in London
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‘It was a mistake to block Andy Burnham in Gorton and Denton and if a situation arises, he should not be blocked again.’
Ed Miliband, who hopes to be Mr Burnham’s chancellor, is reported to have advised the Prime Minister he should set out a timetable for his departure to head off an immediate challenge.
But allies of Sir Keir warned a return for the Greater Manchester mayor would be even harder now. One minister said it would be ‘unthinkable’ for Mr Burnham to quit as mayor as it would ‘hand the job to Reform’.
Another MP questioned whether Mr Burnham could be confident of winning a by-election even if the Prime Minister can be persuaded to let him stand.
‘After last night I’m not sure there are any safe seats left, even for Andy,’ the source said. ‘His pitch has been that Manchester Labourism is popular, but we have been losing seats across Greater Manchester both to Reform and the Greens.’
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said of Mr Burnham: ‘He is one of our star players but the challenges in Manchester are the same as Labour faces across the entire country. Andy is the best person to lead that fightback in Manchester.’
