Andy Burnham was seen arriving at London Euston station this morning while Keir Starmer fights for his political life.
The Manchester Mayor made the journey down from the North West, as Downing Street refused to deny he has a meeting planned with the Prime Minister.
His journey from the North comes as allies claimed Mr Burnham has a seat lined up and is ready to launch his long-awaited push to become premier.
The constituency, a closely guarded secret, is just one of the major hurdles the Mayor of Greater Manchester will have to jump before entering Downing Street should Keir Starmer finally resign.
Support for Mr Burnham has swelled among Labour MPs in recent weeks, despite no one being able to explain a certain route back to Parliament for the ‘King of the North’.
He quit the Commons in 2017 to take the plum job in Manchester, after two unsuccessful runs to be Labour leader – once in 2010 and once in 2015 – and a major falling out with Jeremy Corbyn.
But the longtime leadership contender is now hoping it will be third time lucky, as top figures such as Angela Rayner say the party must allow him to stand.
His last attempt to rejoin the Commons, as the Labour candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election, was blocked by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) – headed personally by Sir Keir.
But his allies are now relying on not just an MP resigning for him to stand, but the NEC finally letting him run.
The number of hurdles Mr Burnham would have to clear are numerous.
Andy Burnham’s road back to Parliament is paved with significant obstacles and opponents
Mr Burnham’s support has surged – but his ability to replace Keir Starmer relies on the Prime Minister clinging on until September and no swift leadership contest taking place before then
To become Prime Minister, the Manchester Mayor would have to get an MP to resign; trigger a by-election; apply to the NEC to stand as a candidate; get approval; be selected by the local party as the candidate; win the seat; then stand for Labour leader.
All of this, however, is entirely reliant on Keir Starmer hanging around as a lame duck Prime Minister until September.
One close ally of Mr Burnham told the Daily Mail this morning he already has a constituency lined up and ready to go.
They confirmed: ‘I know he has got a seat in Greater Manchester.
‘I don’t know which one, but it’s definitely a Greater Manchester seat, not a Liverpool one.’
They added: ‘It’s winnable. If you look at the mayoral elections, even the Tories lend Andy their votes. He’s bigger than Labour in Greater Manchester.’
The name most often suggested as someone potentially willing to stand down is Graham Stringer, the MP for Blackley and Middleton.
While one senior Labour source said the seat is ‘safe as houses’ and would be won by Mr Burnham, Mr Stringer has ruled this out and even voiced scepticism that Mr Burnham could win a seat in Parliament.
Another name mentioned by one MP near Manchester was Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton).
One soft-Left MP who said he is weighing up supporting either Mr Streeting or Mr Burnham said: ‘I’m sure they’ll find a seat.
‘If he finds a seat in the next couple of days, the Prime Minister and NEC won’t try and block him.’
This was backed by the NEC source, who said they doubted Sir Keir would once again sit in on the vote, and will ‘allow the NEC to crack on’.
Mr Burnham’s return to parliament is now being openly supported by Angela Rayner
Wes Streeting would be seen as the big winner should Keir Starmer resign immediately
Mr Burnham’s next big moment will come on May 30, when he is set to give a speech at an event by the centre-Left caucus Compass.
One source claimed he has already ‘counselled’ allies on the speech, which will begin to ‘set out a bit of a manifesto’.
But while Mr Burnham’s route to becoming the next Prime Minister after Sir Keir is tricky, multiple Labour sources warned that he will not give up should someone else take the crown before September.
A source revealed: ‘Whether or not a leadership challenge is launched this week, that doesn’t stop Andy from trying to come back – even if we’ve already changed leader.
‘You’re going to have this perpetual issue of Andy trying to run.
‘So the question is whether Andy can run for this leadership contest, probably not. Will he try to continue returning over the rest of the parliament? Probably.
‘And he doesn’t realise the destabilising nature of this, because he’s blinded by his own greatness.’
This warning was reiterated by another supporter of Mr Burnham, who suggested that electing Mr Streeting, Ms Rayner or Ed Miliband could quickly see Labour copy the Tories in having three prime ministers in one parliament.
They added: ‘It’s f***ing hysterical. We’re in a worse state than the Tories ever were.’
Another ally of Mr Burnham said that should anyone else take the crown, the Manchester Mayor will quickly become a ‘bullseye moment’, referencing the infamous catchphrase of the show: ‘This is what you could have won.’
Last week’s local elections have forced even supportive MPs of Mr Burnham to reconsider whether getting him back into the Commons would be as simple as previously hoped.
The Manchester Mayor’s star power may struggle to overturn the unpopularity of the Labour Party in seats once thought of as ‘safe’.
One party grandee who has gone out to bat for Mr Burnham in recent days warned: ‘If God came down from heaven with a red rosette at the moment, God would struggle to win.
‘And Andy Burnham is not the Messiah, he’s just a very naughty boy.’
