‘No authority’: Starmer under pressure to quit after Burnham wins in Makerfield

Sir Keir Starmer is facing renewed calls to quit from within his own cabinet after Andy Burnham’s triumph at the Makerfield by-election, as a Labour peer claims the Prime Minister has “absolutely no authority”.

The Prime Minister is set to weigh up his future over the weekend in conversations with his family and allies, despite publicly insisting that he will fight to defend his place in Number 10.

Burnham’s emphatic victory over Reform UK in Makerfield has left Starmer’s premiership on the brink, though the Prime Minister has insisted he will fight any leadership challenge.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has reportedly become the latest senior minister to urge Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure. 

Energy secretary Ed Miliband, a former Labour leader, and home secretary Shabhana Mahmood had previously urged Starmer to resign, it has been reported, though both remain in the cabinet.

Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, also told Starmer that he should set out a table for his departure, the Times has reported.

Lord Charlie Falconer, who served as Starmer’s shadow attorney general, said the Prime Minister has “absolutely no authority” and should step aside for Burnham without a leadership contest.

The former justice secretary told the BBC’s Today Programme on Saturday morning that Starmer’s position was “completely unmaintainable”.

He “mood and buzz” created by the new Makerfield MP is “very strong,” he said, adding that a leadership contest would be “bad for the country”.

Starmer mulls his options

Starmer is expected to speak to cabinet ministers over the weekend to tell them that a leadership contest would be hugely damaging for the party, ahead of the cabinet’s next meeting on Tuesday.

“If Keir has not set a timetable for his departure before next Tuesday’s cabinet, let’s see how many ministers are actually there,” one cabinet member told the Financial Times.

Burnham is due to meet with Starmer at the beginning of next week, and his allies have claimed he will present the Prime Minister with a list of 200 MPs who would back him in a contest.

Any leadership contender requires the backing of 81 MPs to trigger a contest to unseat Starmer.

Burnham: ‘Final chance’ for Labour

Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary in May and has since launched assaults on the policy platforms of both Starmer and his potential leadership rival Andy Burnham.

The former health secretary has said he has the necessary backing to launch a bid, but polling suggests he is unlikely to beat either Burnham or Starmer in a ballot of Labour members.

Burnham stormed to victory in Makerfield on Friday morning, warning that Labour has a “final chance to change”. 

The former Mayor of Greater Manchester defeated Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon by 9.231 votes, widening Labour’s vote share in the constituency by 9.6 per cent.

Burnham had previously confirmed that he would stand in any leadership contest, and Starmer said on Friday that he would fight a challenge for the keys to Number 10.

Burnham bolsters economic team

The new MP for Makerfield sought advice from a string of top economists in the lead up to his by-election win in a bid to bolster his economic credentials.

Burnham consulted Richard Hughes, the former OBR chair who was forced to resign over the leaked Budget last year, and ex-Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane.

Jim O’Neill, a Treasury minister under David Cameron who helped drive the “Northern Powerhouse” reforms around 10 years ago, has also been called upon by Burnham to advise on economic policy. 

This push for economic credibility comes after Burnham was criticised for claiming the government was “in hock” to the bond markets.

He has since rowed back from these remarks, having committed during the campaign to retain Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules, which include putting the current budget on course to be in balance or surplus within three years.