Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has publicly declared his full support for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, while simultaneously calling for greater stability and unity within the Labour Party. The announcement comes after Mr Burnham was prevented from standing as a candidate in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election by the party's national executive committee.
Public Endorsement at London Think-Tank Event
Speaking at a Resolution Foundation event in central London focused on working-age families, Mr Burnham was directly asked whether Sir Keir Starmer had his complete support. The mayor responded unequivocally: "Yes, he has my support. The Government has my support and they had my support when I put myself forward for the by-election."
Mr Burnham, who has long been viewed as a potential leadership rival to the Prime Minister, emphasized that he had personally communicated with Sir Keir about the need for the Labour Party to rebuild "a strong sense of a stronger team again" following recent internal tensions.
Call for Unity Over Division
When questioned about Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar's previous calls for Sir Keir to resign and whether he would rule out any future leadership challenge himself, Mr Burnham redirected the conversation toward broader party concerns.
"What I am calling for very clearly today is for the unity to create the stability, to give the Government the platform, to focus on all of the things that I'm talking about today," Mr Burnham stated. "I think we've got to get away from the kind of sense that everything is a challenge."
The mayor expressed frustration with what he described as "constant briefing" and "seemingly endless anonymous briefings" circulating within party circles. He urged colleagues to instead concentrate on immediate political priorities, particularly the approaching by-election.
Focus on Collective Politics"There's a by-election in front of us, I've been playing my role in that by-election... that's the issue in politics right in front of us – the politics of collectivism versus the politics of division," Mr Burnham explained. "My view is you've got to focus on stopping that now... and everything else is noise in the background."
Advocating for Public Control and Party Inclusivity
Earlier in his remarks, Mr Burnham highlighted the advantages of public control in governance and emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts with the government to address essential living costs.
"To do that requires stability and I make my own call for that today across the Labour Party," he asserted. "Of course stability comes from greater unity and that would be helped by a more inclusive way of running the party but recent events make that now feel possible."
The mayor's comments represent a significant public demonstration of support for the current Labour leadership while simultaneously advocating for internal reconciliation and a renewed focus on collective political objectives rather than internal divisions.
