Could former health secretary and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham be about to make an unlikely deal with Wes Streeting to oust Keir Starmer? The question arises after Streeting's resignation letter echoed Burnham's own language, calling for a "battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism" and urging a broad party with the best possible field of candidates.
Streeting's Resignation and Burnham's Opening
Streeting, who may have once hoped for a coronation, lacked enough names to mount a challenge and faced humiliation. He knows the wind is blowing towards Greater Manchester. Burnham now has a possible opening: Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield, has resigned specifically to let the mayor run for parliament. Burnham is the candidate with the most support in the parliamentary party, the membership, and the country. No one thinks Starmer has the political authority to block him via the party's national executive committee.
Potential Deal Between Rivals
Burnham, who served under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and Jeremy Corbyn, has been on a political journey. Recently, he has been the closest ally of the party's left, defending those pursued by Starmer and Morgan McSweeney's factionalism. Streeting, known for his aggressive anti-Corbyn stance, has begun to express discomfort with the way party discipline has been exerted under Starmer, including routine suspensions of party rebels. He called the briefings against Burnham during the Gorton and Denton byelection "disgraceful." Both are deeply concerned about Reform and the rise of far-right racism.
Although they appear on opposite wings, the two men have no known personal animosity. The same cannot be said for some of Burnham's key supporters, including Ed Miliband and Lucy Powell. However, Burnham and Streeting have spent time together on the campaign trail and on joint health ventures during government.
Streeting's Options Narrow
Many of Streeting's critics claim he was poised to launch a coup from the second week of Labour coming to power. But there is a difference between ambition and being prepared to wield the knife. Streeting has always been reluctant to launch a leadership challenge. His best hope was that Starmer could be persuaded to resign, allowing him to gather enough support to cut off Burnham's route to parliament and leave the soft left divided. His options narrowed, and he decided not to humiliate himself by launching a challenge he might not be able to fight. After telling the prime minister he had no confidence in him, Streeting resigned.
Now he hopes for a leadership contest, but his letter strongly signals that he believes Burnham should be a candidate. Perhaps Streeting will also run and likely lose, but there is no dishonour in that—Burnham has lost twice. Streeting could offer Burnham the backing of his wing of the party.
Burnham's Path Forward
Burnham does not need a deal with Streeting to win. If he returns to Westminster, he will be in pole position. However, some critics in the parliamentary party are suspicious of his closeness to the left and his comments about bond markets, which he claims were misinterpreted. Even if wrongly construed, the bond markets remain his biggest obstacle. MPs are genuinely worried about what a Burnham premiership could trigger in the markets.
So at some point, it may become convenient for Burnham to practise what he has preached: promise an end to factionalism and reach out across the party to the other side of the red divide.
