By Editor Greg Heffer James Tapsfield
Sir Keir Starmer’s hopes of a long-term stay in Downing Street are under fresh scrutiny as two of Labour’s most senior figures lead a revolt against the PM.
Sir Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, and Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, are both publicly opposing the Government over welfare cuts.
They have both spoken out against Sir Keir’s plans to tighten access to benefits as the PM faces the prospect of a humiliating House of Commons rebellion.
Despite Sir Keir having caved to rebel MPs by watering down the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, Sir Sadiq told ministers to ‘go further’.
‘The mission of the Labour Government should be to support people out of poverty and this Bill still needs radical transformation to be fit for purpose,’ Sir Sadiq said.
Meanwhile, Mr Burnham has urged Labour MPs to vote against the Bill as he condemned Sir Keir for performing only ‘half a U-turn’ on benefits changes.
Their public opposition, as the PM endures one of the worst spells of his premiership, has sparked fresh speculation that Sir Sadiq and Mr Burnham want to replace Sir Keir.
It has also seen relations between the two men and Sir Keir’s team in Downing Street sink even further.
Mr Burnham, a former Cabinet minister who has twice stood for the Labour leadership, has repeatedly refused to rule out another bid for his party’s top job.
He has had an historically fraught relationship with Sir Keir’s office, having once told the Labour leader’s team to ‘leave me alone’ and end hostile briefings against him.
As well as opposing the PM on welfare cuts, Mr Burnham – dubbed the ‘King of the North’ – has also publicly contradicted Sir Keir’s position on recent issues such as a national grooming gangs inquiry, and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In a speech at the end of May, the Greater Manchester mayor – who was an MP between 2001 and 2017 – urged Labour to work on a ‘substantially new offer for the public’.
Some observers judged this to be an overt leadership pitch and a ‘full-blooded rejection’ of Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Under Labour Party rules, leadership candidates must be a serving MP.
Mr Burnham’s speech and his subsequent criticism of Sir Keir and Ms Reeves’ welfare plans led to claims he could soon attempt to find a route back to Westminster via a parliamentary by-election.
A potential contest in Gorton and Denton, a Greater Manchester constituency currently held by Mr Burnham’s long-time ally Andrew Gwynne, is seen as one possible option.
In February, Mr Gwynne was sacked as a health minister and suspended from Labour after the emergence of offensive messages in a WhatsApp group.
He is currently under investigation by a parliamentary watchdog.
Meanwhile, a possible parliamentary by-election in Hampstead and Highgate could serve as a means for Sir Sadiq to make his own return to Parliament.
The seat is currently held by Tulip Siddiq, who quit as a Treasury minister in January following allegations linked to her aunt’s political movement in Bangladesh.
But, unlike Mr Burnham, Sir Sadiq has ruled out a future Labour leadership bid.
He said last year, prior to winning an historic third term as London mayor, that he had ‘no interest at all to be a Labour leader or the next Labour leader’.
‘I’ve got no ambitions to go back to the House of Commons,’ he added, as he suggested Labour’s next leader should be their first female leader.
Yet, like Mr Burnham, Sir Sadiq is not afraid to publicly oppose Sir Keir on major issues and has endured an increasingly uneasy relationship with Downing Street.
It is understood that tensions between City Hall and the Labour leadership flared during Ms Reeve’s recent spending review and have not eased.
Allies of Sir Sadiq were furious that the Chancellor pointedly directed investment to ‘anywhere but London’.
The mayor has previously rankled No10 by openly calling for the UK to rejoin the EU single market, while he has also defied Sir Keir by taking a different position on the Gaza crisis.