Political rivals tend to lurk in the shadows before they strike, but one of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s broke with convention this week by splashing himself across the front pages.
While Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s undisguised pitch for the top job took many in the Labour Party by surprise, the fact succession is talked of at all puts them in strange territory. It was only 14 months ago that Starmer led them to a massive victory in the polls.
At the annual Labour Party conference beginning today, Starmer has a crucial chance to win over his mutinous colleagues after a year of struggling to communicate his vision. Burnham’s interviews this week, in which he espoused a more radical manifesto than Starmer, made it clear at least one of them is waiting for him to slip up.
Photo: EPA
Rivals come in many guises, and where Burnham has been open about his ambitions, there is another seen as equally keen to jump into the breach.
Labour insiders speaking on condition of anonymity said the other candidate most likely to vie for the prime minister’s place in the event of his downfall would be British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting. The 42 year-old remains publicly loyal to Starmer, but has made a series of pointed remarks in recent weeks that stake out distance between him and his boss.
Where Burnham’s ambitions are no secret, having tried and failed to lead his party twice before, a spokesperson for Streeting declined to comment on whether he would seek the top job.
He has fueled colleagues’ suspicions by voicing regular support for Palestinians in the conflict with Israel and criticizing US President Donald Trump. These comments seem crafted to appeal to a left-wing selectorate who the lawmaker — more at home on the right of the party — would have to convince to win the role.
Streeting remains a member of Starmer’s Cabinet with little outward sign that he is preparing a challenge. Yet several Labour figures speculated to Bloomberg that if Starmer failed to regain his popularity, some of his former aides could swing in behind Streeting.
Streeting faces skepticism from the Labour grassroots who stand in his path, as well as a paper-thin majority in his parliamentary constituency, which might mean he needs to find another seat.
Aside from the fact that the party is still, for now, Keir Starmer’s, Burnham faces obstacles no less formidable than Streeting to winning the role. The 55-year-old Manchester mayor does not hold a seat in Parliament — a requirement for the job of prime minister — and would need to find a route to Westminster before he could seriously challenge the PM.
He might have made that more remote by blowing his own cover. Several lawmakers and aides said they felt Burnham had overplayed his hand this week, by being so obvious about his ambitions.
Comments that the government should not be so “in hock” to the bond markets, as well as a call to increase borrowing by ￡40 billion (US$53.6 billion), were criticized by both economists and Starmer’s allies, who invoked the economic impact of former British prime minister Liz Truss.
The third name in the mix is British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, appointed in a recent reshuffle. She is seen by some of Starmer’s allies as potential future leader. One Labour member of parliament speculated that a Streeting-Mahmood ticket might be the most plausible way to replace Starmer, but cautioned that at this early stage it was not clear who would top the billing.
All this intrigue means Burnham is not the only one inviting unflattering comparisons with Conservative Party predecessors.
“The end of the 14-year Conservative rule saw the party go through three leaders in two years, lose 251 MPs in one election and now stare political oblivion in the face,” said James Starkie, a former Conservative aide, now of the consultancy 5654 & Co.
“You would think this experience would now serve as a salutary lesson to other political parties how not to govern,” he said.
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