Burnham hints at leadership bid amid Labour conference tensions

On the eve of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham publicly suggested this week that Labour MPs are pressing him to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer, intensifying a leadership crisis that has been fuelled by senior resignations and poor polling. The intervention comes as the party prepares to debate its direction after 14 months in power and as populist competitor Reform UK gains ground in opinion polls.

Burnham, who is not a member of Parliament, told journalists he has been urged by MPs to consider stepping up and urged Labour to embrace bolder economic intervention, including large-scale nationalisation of housing, energy and water. If you are asking me, am I attracted to going back into my old world and the old way of doing things in Westminster, he said, adding that he was ready to work with anyone with a plan to turn the country round. He also called for Labour to move beyond what he described as being in hock to the bond markets.

Labour figures and allied commentators offered sharply contrasting readings. Senior aides to the prime minister warned privately that Burnham's proposals would require heavy borrowing and risk...