Two Labour MPs who were put on “resignation watch” in an attempt to give Andy Burnham a path back to the House of Commons have ruled out stepping down ahead of the next General Election.
Gorton & Denton MP Andrew Gwynne and Blackley & Middleton South MP Graham Stringer both committed to representing their Manchester constituents in Westminster.
Mr Gwynne, who was sacked as a Health Minister earlier this year after inappropriate WhatsApp messages were uncovered, committed to seeing out his term and declared that Mr Burnham’s “route to No10” would not run through his constituency.
He told The Times: “In order to end the tedious speculation about my seat while I’m trying to recover from a period of ill health, it is my intention to serve a full term.”
Mr Gwynne, who backed Mr Burnham’s 2015 Labour leadership bid, added: “The route to No 10 is not going to be through Gorton & Denton.”
The 51-year-old’s comments come just days after Mr Stringer also ruled out moving aside for Mr Burnham.
Mr Stringer, an ardent Brexiteer who is now putting pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, said last week that he would “see a full term out” rather than stand down to allow the mayor to fight a by-election.
Opinion polls have also suggested that Mr Burnham will need to find a safer Labour seat if he is to avoid a potentially bruising defeat at the hands of Reform UK in Greater Manchester.
Andy Burnham Mayor of Greater Manchester speaks to the media outside Central Hall in Westminster
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PA
Polling aggregator Nowcast puts Reform UK ahead of Labour in Mr Stringer’s seat of Heywood & Middleton South and in Mr Burnham’s former constituency of Leigh & Atherton.
However, Labour retains a narrow four-point lead over Reform UK in Mr Gwynne’s Gorton & Denton seat.
Reform UK insiders believe that Nigel Farage’s new campaign machine will thwart Mr Burnham’s rumoured plot to return to Westminster.
“Burnham faces the same dilemma as Boris, Reform UK’s policy chief Zia Yusuf said. “There’s no seat he’d be assured of winning in pursuit of the leadership.
“He’d be up against a Reform campaign machine that’s even stronger now than it was in Runcorn & Helsby when we won a ‘safe’ Labour seat. Does he have the stones?”
Despite Mr Burnham’s path to power facing a number of obstacles, the Greater Manchester Mayor has repeatedly refused to rule out a return to Westminster.
Speaking to GB News in Liverpool last year, Mr Burnham said: “I am committed to my third term, absolutely. I’m not planning to head back to Westminster any time soon.”
When asked if that would mean Mr Burnham would never head back, the former Health Secretary chuckled.
Mr Burnham, who continues to enjoy broad support from northern Labour MPs, also refused to shut down speculation this week.
He said: “I have never ruled out going back to Westminster.”
Polling conducted by YouGov suggested Mr Burnham is preferred to Sir Keir Starmer when it comes to who would make the best Labour leader and Prime Minister.
However, Mr Burnham’s complex path to the House of Commons will bring a sigh of relief to Sir Keir.
The Prime Minister is facing increasing pressure from his own MPs, including over his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US Ambassador.
Sir Keir sacked Lord Mandelson just 24 hours after defending him at Prime Minister’s Questions.
A major reshuffle, sparked by Angela Rayner’s resignation over her £44,000 stamp duty scandal, also raised eyebrows.
Find Out Now’s latest opinion poll puts Labour’s support on just 16 per cent, handing Reform UK a staggering 18-point lead on 34 per cent.
Despite Labour slumping to its lowest ever support in the opinion polls, Sir Keir remains defiant about remaining Prime Minister.
Ruling out any resignation, the Prime Minister said: “No, because I’m absolutely clear what the task is in front of me, we have a crossroads really in terms of the future of this country.
“We go forward with Labour for national renewal, a patriotic call about this country and taking this country forward, true patriotism or we have division and decline under Reform … and a country in which people feel that they’re not part of the country that we are, that is divisive.”