Reeves urges Burnham to stay in mayoral role as Labour leadership speculation swirls

Chancellor Rachel Reeves urged Andy Burnham to remain in his post as Greater Manchester mayor amid swirling rumours of a leadership bid ahead of Labour's conference in Liverpool. Reeves, speaking to broadcasters before the gathering, praised Burnham as a 'great mayor' who is delivering for Manchester and said he had pledged to serve a full term. 'Keir Starmer won the general election last year, and he will get on and do that job, and I'll get on with my job as well, being Chancellor of the Exchequer,' Reeves said.

Burnham has publicly suggested MPs would push for him to challenge Starmer, saying 'rumours swirl' around a possible leadership bid. Starmer has urged party unity, telling supporters Labour must 'unite and fight' to confront the party's opponents. Labour chairwoman Anna Turley acknowledged it has been 'quite a challenging couple of weeks' for the party. A Savanta poll for The House magazine found 28% of voters thought Burnham would be a better prime minister than Starmer, though many MPs are frustrated by the sense their colleagues are trying to topple the leadership.

As Labour travels to Liverpool, the leadership question sits alongside broader debates about the party's direction. Starmer has warned that Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, would 'tear our country apart' and would push for a divisive politics of 'toxic divide and decline.' In comments to The Guardian, Starmer urged the party to mobilize and present a credible alternative, arguing that history will not forgive Labour if it fails to meet the challenge posed by Reform. Polling cited by YouGov recently suggested Farage could be the next prime minister under certain scenarios, underscoring the challenge for Labour to widen support and win seats created by realignment.

Labour is also set to debate welfare policy at the conference, including pressure from backbenchers and unions to end the two-child benefit cap. Seven Labour MPs had the whip suspended in July last year after backing an SNP motion calling for an end to the cap; some suspensions were lifted months later, including John McDonnell and Apsana Begum. Zarah Sultana resigned from the party to co-found a new left-wing group with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. MPs from Liverpool wrote to the prime minister ahead of the gathering urging that the cap be scrapped, framing it as a key test of Labour's commitment to child poverty reduction.

Deputy leadership contenders have indicated opposition to the cap, and Lucy Powell, a former Commons leader and a leading candidate for deputy leadership, has pushed for changes. Darren Jones, the prime minister's chief secretary and a senior Cabinet Office minister, told the Telegraph that the benefits bill is 'unsustainable in the long run,' signaling potential appetite among ministers to revisit welfare measures. The conference's agenda also includes scrutiny of a forthcoming digital ID system unveiled by Starmer's team and details of a new tranche of 'New Towns' to be outlined by senior Labour figures.

Altogether, the event represents Labour's attempt to balance internal unity with policy articulation as polls show Reform UK making gains and a portion of the party seeking clearer directions. Reeves's remarks are part of a broader effort to defuse leadership tensions while preserving credibility on economic stewardship and social policy as Labour seeks to frame an alternative to Nigel Farage's movement. The conference, which runs over the weekend into the following week, will test Labour's capacity to project national renewal and to contrast its approach with what it calls Reform's 'toxic divide' strategy.