‘King of the North’ Burnham tipped to replace Keir after mayoral landslide
PRESSURE mounted on British Labour leader Keir Starmer last night after Labour’s so-called ‘King of the North’ stormed to victory yesterday in a key mayoral race.
Andy Burnham marked his landslide re-election as Greater Manchester mayor by making it clear that he still had ambitions to be Labour leader.
The former cabinet minister said that was for ‘one day’ in the future, stressing his priority was his new mandate as mayor.
Mr Burnham’s popularity has already led to him becoming one of the bookmakers’ favourites to be the next Labour leader.
And Labour MPs said Mr Burnham’s triumph yesterday, on a thumping 67.3% of the first-round vote, undermined Mr Starmer’s authority as leader given how in the West Midlands, Labour candidate Liam Byrne failed to unseat Tory mayor Andy Street. One former shadow cabinet minister said of Mr Burnham: ‘Andy’s victory shows it – the problem is not Labour, but Keir.’
Others said Mr Burnham, who has tried twice before for the party leadership, showed what ‘a charismatic Northern leader’ could do in Labour’s beleaguered
Red Wall.
Mr Burnham, 51, was dubbed King of the North after standing up to Boris Johnson over his treatment of the Manchester region in Covid lockdown plans last year.
Asked about his ambitions yesterday, the mayor raised the prospect that ‘one day’ he would stand again for the top job. He quashed speculation that he could return to the Commons as Labour candidate in a by-election later this year.
Mr Burnham told the BBC: ‘I’m not just going to put myself forward unless they needed me one day in the future, but we’re not at that day.’