A Labour MP has said he would be willing to give up his seat for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, as internal unrest over Keir Starmer’s leadership intensifies amid dire polling and a difficult Budget and local elections ahead.
Clive Lewis, the MP for Norwich South, described Labour as being in an “intolerable situation” and argued the party needed a change of direction.
Speaking on the BBC’s Politics Live, he confirmed he had spoken recently with Mr Burnham and had put his name forward as an alternative to Keir Starmer.
Mr Lewis, who last week publicly called for the Prime Minister to resign, said the next Labour leader should be “someone that has the confidence of the British public, MPs, that can run a large organisation, that has government experience, and those people are few and far between”. He added: “I have suggested Andy Burnham, but obviously he’s not a Member of Parliament. Perhaps he should be.”
In order to mount a leadership challenge, Mr Burnham would need to step down as mayor, win a parliamentary seat in a by-election, and secure at least 80 MP nominations. Lewis’s remarks mark the first time a Labour MP has suggested they would be prepared to vacate their constituency to facilitate Mr Burnham’s return to Westminster.
Asked directly whether he would give up his own seat, Mr Lewis said: “It’s a question I’ve asked myself, and I’d have to obviously consult my wife as well and family.
“But do you know what, if I’m going to sit here and say country before party, party before personal ambition, then yes, I have to say yes, don’t I?” When pressed again, he replied: “I would, yes.”
The Conservatives seized on the remarks, with Sir James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, commenting: “Haven’t the people of Norwich South suffered enough?”
Speculation around Mr Burnham’s ambitions has grown in recent months. In an interview with The Telegraph last autumn, he said MPs had privately encouraged him to challenge Sir Keir. He outlined a number of policy ideas at the time, including higher council tax on expensive homes in London and the South East, tax cuts for lower earners, and a 50p income tax rate for top earners. He also accused No 10 of fostering a “climate of fear” and causing “alienation and demoralisation” among Labour MPs.
Mr Burnham has repeatedly said he has “never ruled out going back to Westminster”, having previously served as MP for Leigh from 2001 to 2017 and as health secretary under Gordon Brown.
Downing Street has attempted to quash talk of a leadership challenge, but an early intervention last week appeared to backfire. Allies of the Prime Minister briefed that Health Secretary Wes Streeting was the most likely rival, prompting Mr Streeting to deny he was on manoeuvres and to criticise a “toxic” and “juvenile” culture within No 10. Sir Keir later apologised to him over the briefing row.
Though Mr Streeting refused to rule out future ambitions for the leadership, he dismissed Mr Lewis’s seat-vacating proposal as “peculiar” and warned it could undermine the MP’s relationship with his constituents.
Mr Lewis responded on X: “Of course he finds it peculiar. Self-sacrifice, hypothetical or not, is foreign to the self-serving.
“I love my city and my constituents. But the authoritarian right is an existential threat. We need the best chance of turning this around. That’s Andy, not Wes.”
Rumours are also circulating in Westminster about a potential leadership move by former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who was forced to resign as Deputy Prime Minister and from her ministerial posts in September after the ethics adviser found she had breached the Ministerial Code by under-paying stamp duty. Reports suggest she still owes over £40,000 to HMRC.
Labour’s difficulties have been compounded by fresh polling. New YouGov figures show the Green Party at its highest-ever position, following gains under its new leader Zack Polanski. Labour’s vote share, already sharply down since its election win, has fallen by a further two points.
Reform UK continues to lead on 27 per cent, with Labour on 19 per cent, the Conservatives on 17 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 13 per cent.
