Sir Keir Starmer was secretly advised by "Machiavellian" allies linked to Peter Mandelson to resign immediately in a brutal bid to "screw over" Andy Burnham, the Express can reveal.
The shocking revelation suggests the former Prime Minister was urged to blindside the Mayor of Greater Manchester the moment his leadership was challenged, denying his fierce rival time to launch a coordinated campaign.
Backstage plot exposed
Speaking on the Daily Expresso, host JJ Anisiobi revealed extraordinary new claims about what really went down in the battle for No 10.
"My senior Labour source told me that Starmer was advised, despite everything that's happened [...] by people adjacent to Mandelson to - once he was challenged for power by Burnham - get out as soon as possible," Mr Anisiobi revealed. "Because that is going to absolutely screw Andy Burnham over."
According to the claims, Mr Burnham had been planning for a delayed transition in the early autumn, hoping to buy crucial time to assemble his team and build a strong platform.
Starmer's strategy
Mr Anisiobi explained Sir Keir's strategy: "Do not give him time to make a proper plan. Do not stay till September. Andy Burnham wanted Starmer [to stay] until September at least, so he had three months to come up with a proper plan."
"Starmer was advised: 'No, if you want to screw him, you want to pay him back. You leave as soon as you can leave.'"
Months of internal feuding, poor polling results and humiliating local election defeats finally brought Sir Keir's time in Downing Street to an end. Faced with an inevitable leadership challenge and a mutiny among his own MPs, Sir Keir pulled the plug on June 22, officially bowing out of No 10 on July 20.
Path to power for Burnham
His departure paved the way for Andy Burnham. The former Mayor of Greater Manchester had staged his return to Parliament just days earlier, winning the Makerfield by-election to position himself as the party's saviour. With Sir Keir quitting far earlier than his critics anticipated, Mr Burnham became leader of the Labour Party without any contest.
Upon meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace to formally accept the invitation to form a Government, Mr Burnham officially became Britain's 59th prime minister. Speaking outside No 10, he declared his leadership a "circuit-breaker moment" for the nation, pledging to lower the cost of living and decentralise political power across the country.
In reshaping his Cabinet, the Prime Minister appointed former Defence Secretary John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary, while reappointing Angela Rayner as Housing Secretary and removing prominent Starmer loyalists like Rachel Reeves and David Lammy.
