Burnham triggers Labour row with leadership bid and radical tax-and-spend plan

Andy Burnham set off a major Labour row by telling the Telegraph that mutinous MPs want him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the party leadership. In the interview, conducted ahead of Labour's annual conference, the Manchester mayor sketched a sweeping tax-and-spend manifesto that he said could turn the country around.

The plan would raise the top rate of income tax to 50 percent, impose higher council tax on expensive homes in London and the south east, and borrow about £40 billion to effectively nationalise housing construction. Burnham argued there is a huge underpayment of tax under current rules because councils rely on property valuations from 1991, and he framed the package as a corrective to that system. He cast the proposal as a vehicle to improve public services and living standards rather than a bid to undermine the government.

Burnham, who twice ran unsuccessfully for Labour leadership when he was an MP, accused Starmer of leaving Labour riven by alienation and demoralisation. He stopped short of saying he would resign as mayor to seek a Westminster seat, saying in the Telegraph that he is not plotting to get back, a claim not universally accepted among party figures. A Labour source told HuffPost that MPs have urged him to run, while acknowledging the path would be difficult because he would need to resign as mayor, win a seat, and obtain nominations from at least 80 Labour MPs.

In a separate round of interviews, Burnham argued Starmer lacks a plan to turn the country around and said Labour runs the party in a divisive way. Speaking to the New Statesman, he pressed for wholesale change and for a coalition approach toward a broader progressive majority, including support for proportional representation and working with Liberal Democrats and Jeremy Corbyn. He described his vision as aspirational socialism and argued utilities should be in public ownership. He also called for higher council tax on the South East and London, and for borrowing to fund council housing.

He said MPs privately urged him to challenge Starmer and that No. 10 has created a climate of fear within the party. Burnham stressed that leaving his mayoralty would be a wrench and that the substance of his plan matters more than his personal trajectory. He warned against a culture of point-scoring and urged a broader reform effort on public services and borrowing to fund council housing. He criticized the chancellor for resisting higher borrowing, arguing the country should move beyond being in hock to the bond markets.

Any bid would face hurdles: resigning as mayor, winning a Westminster seat in a by-election, and securing nominations from Labour MPs. The party's executive would need to approve his candidacy, and the contest would hinge on a seat Labour can win, a challenge given Reform UK polling well. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there is no vacancy, leaving unclear which job Burnham would pursue if he returned. Some backbenchers suggested they would support him in a leadership bid, while others warned that a credible challenge would require broad backing rather than personal ambition.

The episode comes as Starmer seeks to steady Labour ahead of local elections and a general election, with Reform UK polling ahead in some surveys and government departures fueling questions about the government's direction. Burnham supporters portray his plan as a reset for Labour, while critics say it risks undermining party unity and shifting focus away from the party's immediate priorities.