Starmer vows to lead Labour into next election as Burnham challenges PM

Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday defied mounting questions about a leadership challenge from Andy Burnham, saying he will lead Labour into the next general election. In interviews with regional broadcasters on the eve of Labour's annual conference in Liverpool, the Labour leader framed his long-term project as a decade-long endeavour and defended the government's record one year into office despite a raft of setbacks. He said he was proud of Labour's achievements since their landslide victory last July and refused to engage with reports of plots against him.

Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, has publicly suggested mutinous MPs could be seeking a leadership contest, and allies urged him to stay focused on Manchester rather than Westminster ambitions. The Greater Manchester mayor, who has twice failed to win Labour's leadership, accused Starmer of leaving the party with a sense of alienation and demoralisation since entering No. 10. In response, government ministers bluntly reminded Burnham that his current term runs to 2028 and urged him to concentrate on delivering for his region while labelling him a “regional politician.”

Starmer pressed his insistence on fiscal rules and warned against returning to the kind of spending that followed the Liz Truss era. Speaking to BBC North West, he said: "I'm not going to get drawn in to commenting on the personal ambitions of the mayor. But I do want to be really clear about our fiscal rules because economic stability is the foundation stone of this Government. It was three years this week ago that we had the Liz Truss experiment where she abandoned fiscal rules, in her case for tax cuts, and the result was a disaster for working people. The same would be true if you abandoned fiscal rules in favour of spending. And I'm not prepared to ever have that inflicted on working people again." He also reminded listeners that Labour’s victory last year was followed by a period of accountability, and reaffirmed his own commitment: "Yes. I’ve been very clear that this is a project of national renewal – patriotic national renewal – I was clear about that when we launched the campaign, as we did last year. I’m very clear that that is a 10-year project. I led from the front into the last election, I’ll lead from the front into the next election."

The prime minister, meanwhile, told ITV Anglia that he had defied critics who doubted he could reform Labour, saying, "they said, you can't win an election in 2024 – I said yes we can, and we did with a landslide victory. Now people (who) are saying to me you can't change the country (are) getting the same answer. We can and we will." Asked whether he could guarantee he would lead Labour into the 2029 election, Starmer replied simply, "Yes."

Critics pressed Starmer on the issue of leadership plots, but he insisted his focus remained on governing. "My job is not to get drawn into that. My job is to fix the problems in this country," he said while visiting regional studios. In the broader political climate, Burnham’s remarks prompted a blunt counterpoint from government ministers, who pointed out that his mayoralty continues for several years and argued he should concentrate on local delivery. Housing Secretary Steve Reed and Chancellor Rachel Reeves each suggested Burnham’s national ambitions should not distract him from his duties in Greater Manchester.

Burnham, speaking to The Telegraph and other outlets, outlined a tax-and-spend programme he said could turn the country around, including raising the top rate of income tax to 50 percent and increasing council tax on more expensive homes in London and the South East, backed by £40 billion of borrowing to fund housebuilding. Yet he stopped short of promising to resign as mayor to pursue a Westminster seat, noting that doing so would require a by-election and the nominations of at least 80 Labour MPs. That friction has fed a wider debate about whether Labour’s leadership at the national level can tolerate a mayoral figure with such a profile pursuing it.

Some MPs have suggested Burnham would find it difficult to win a Westminster seat in the current political climate, with one telling the Daily Mail that Burnham has historically shown a reluctance to engage with Labour’s base in the south of England and Wales. Others urged caution about a hasty leadership bid, given the procedural steps that would be required to mount a national challenge. Reed, appearing on Times Radio, underscored that Burnham’s current job remains the Manchester mayoralty and that he has commitments that he intends to honor.

Burnham himself said he loves his role and is committed to serving a full term, telling BBC Radio Manchester that he had not entered into any plan to run at Westminster at the expense of his current post. He also argued that the country needs wholesale change and questioned whether Labour could sustain momentum with the current leadership. In interviews with The Telegraph and other outlets, he framed the choice as one between a new, bolder approach and the status quo, arguing for a shift toward greater public ownership of essentials and a more aggressive use of borrowing to fund housing.

The political calculus around Burnham’s ambitions remains complex. To challenge Starmer effectively, he would need to resign as mayor, win a seat in Parliament in a by-election, and secure nominations from at least 80 Labour MPs. That combination makes a leadership contest unlikely before the local elections scheduled for May, according to several party insiders. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson cautioned that there was no vacancy for Burnham to apply to, underscoring the procedural hurdles that any such bid would face.

Despite the internal tensions, Burnham has signaled a willingness to work with other progressive forces if Labour chooses a broader reform path. He told the Telegraph that he would be open to collaborating with the Liberal Democrats and even Jeremy Corbyn, and he advocated for proportional representation to foster coalitions of the progressive majority. He characterized the current atmosphere within Westminster as one of fear and division and argued that the party should confront those dynamics rather than accommodate them.

As Labour prepares for its conference in Liverpool, observers say the party’s leadership question remains unresolved. Starmer’s insistence on a ten-year national renewal project contrasts with Burnham’s call for a rapid, bold reimagining of the country’s tax and spending framework. The tension highlights a party at a crossroads: pursue a steady, rules-based approach to fiscal policy and long-term reform under Starmer, or embrace Burnham’s more ambitious, potentially disruptive program that would require swift, sweeping changes and a direct challenge to the party’s current leadership.

The next few weeks will test Labour’s ability to reconcile competing visions for the country’s direction. For now, Starmer presents a roadmap of continuity and stewardship, while Burnham casts himself as the architect of a decisive shift in Labour’s identity. As the conference nears, party officials will be watching closely to see whether the leadership debate spills into the main stage or remains contained within the party’s inner circles. Either way, the outcome will shape Labour’s path into the next election and influence the broader political contest across Britain.