Angela Rayner has “done a deal” to become Andy Burnham’s deputy should he mount a challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, according to Labour sources.
MPs backing the Greater Manchester Mayor claim Ms Rayner would take back her role as deputy PM in exchange for backing his bid.
A Labour MP aligned with Mr Burnham told the Daily Mail: “My understanding is that the deal has been done.
“Angie would go back to being deputy and get a plum Cabinet job.”
Speculation has mounted in recent months that Mr Burnham, an ex-Labour minister, is eyeing up a return to Westminster.
Commons allies of the mayor said they had found him a seat which was “likely to come free” in the coming months, according to The Mail on Sunday.
Strategists working for Mr Burnham had drawn up a shortlist of potential target seats in the North West, including the Gorton and Denton seat held by former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne, the paper reported.
Mr Burnham’s rumoured ambitions to return to Westminster are likely to receive public backing, as a recent poll found he had overtaken both Sir Keir and Nigel Farage in the race for the public’s approval as the country’s preferred prime minister.
A Labour MP aligned with Mr Burnham has suggested the Greater Manchester mayor has struck an agreement with Ms Rayner
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The Greater Manchester Mayor emerged as the most likely figure who can succeed against Sir Keir in a head-to-head contest for leadership.
When asked by pollsters Ipsos whether the Labour leader would make a better Prime Minister against a host of other top politicians, 36 per cent of voters opted for Mr Burnham compared to 29 per cent for Sir Keir.
And the Labour mayor also narrowly lead Mr Farage in their own matchup, with 33 per cent of Britons saying they would back Mr Burnham as PM versus the Reform UK leader.
Ms Rayner meanwhile retains considerable support among Labour Party members, including the Prime Minister.
Andy Burnham scored ahead of Sir Keir in a recent poll
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IPSOSA spokesman for the Greater Manchester Mayor dismissed rumours of an agreement with Ms Rayner
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The Ashton-under-Lyne MP resigned as deputy prime minister, housing secretary and deputy Labour leader in September after an independent ethics probe found she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on a seaside flat.
Sir Keir earlier this month pledged his “hugely talented” ex-deputy leader would return to his cabinet.
A spokesman for Mr Burnham has dismissed reports of an agreement with Ms Rayner, as well as claims he had approached sitting Labour MPs about their seats, describing them as “rubbish”.
A source close to Ms Rayner also ruled out speculation of a deal.
“There is no vacancy and there is no pact,” they said, according to the Daily Mail.