Main Points
- A sitting Labour MP resigned from his seat, paving the way for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to potentially return to Westminster and mount a challenge to prime minister Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership
- Wes Streeting, another likely contender for challenging Starmer, resigned as UK health secretary, saying he has “lost confidence” in the prime minister as leader of their party
- Former deputy leader Angela Rayner has suggested she could enter any leadership contest. She has been cleared by tax authorities of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs
- Starmer’s position as prime minister has become increasingly tenuous since Labour’s hammering in elections across Britain last week
Key Reads
- Andy Burnham: the political chameleon making a bid for Labour’s top job
- Profile: Is Wes Streeting a reformer or performer?
- Kathy Sheridan: Nigel Farage’s success is the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party meme come to life
- Finn McRedmond: Starmer is bland, stable, boring – he should have gone a long way
That concludes today’s live coverage.
See Mark Paul’s latest news piece to catch up on Friday’s developments.
The political chameleon making a bid for Labour’s top job
London Correspondent Mark Paul writes:
There is a running joke in Westminster about the shape-shifting politics of Labour’s Andy Burnham, the top contender to unseat Keir Starmer as UK prime minister.
It goes like this: a Blairite, a Corbynite and a Starmerite walk into a bar. The bartender says: “Hello Andy.”
In his 25-year career as an elected politician, the Greater Manchester mayor Burnham’s political leanings have stretched the full width of Labour’s spectrum. He has inhabited every spot from right-adjacent reformer to left-wing man of the people.
With the seemingly hapless and doomed Starmer rocking on his heels after an internal Labour rebellion, Burnham now plans to metamorphasise once again.
Can the so-called “King of the North” extend his dominion south to Westminster, and become the prime minister who finally gets a grip on post-Brexit broken Britain?
Who exactly is this Scouse-born mayor of Manchester, what does he believe in and what makes him tick?
Read his analysis in full.
[ The Greater Manchester mayor is recasting himself as Labour’s potential saviourOpens in new window ]
Mandelson appointment documents redacted ‘too broadly’
The British parliament’s intelligence watchdog has criticised the UK government for redacting documents “far too broadly”, as it responds to MPs’ demand for details on the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said on Friday it had made its final decisions on redactions to 337 documents connected to the appointment on national security grounds.
But in a statement, the ISC raised “concerns” about wider redactions, including individuals’ personal data, email addresses and the identities of junior civil servants.
The committee said it did not think the motion passed by the House of Commons demanding documents related to the appointment allowed redactions “other than on grounds of prejudice to UK national security and international relations”.
The ISC also suggested redactions on non-security grounds were “being applied far too broadly”, and accused the Government of withholding documents despite not having “the authority to do so”.
In particular, the committee said the government had withheld a vetting file compiled by UK security vetting.
Last month, it was disclosed that the security vetting had recommended against granting Mandelson the developed vetting necessary for his appointment, but the UK’s foreign office had given him clearance despite that advice. – PA
Farage bought £1.4m property using TV appearance money, says Reform
Nigel Farage bought a £1.4 million property using money he received for taking part in I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!, Reform UK has said.
Reports on Thursday said that the party leader had paid for the house in 2024, shortly after receiving a £5 million personal gift from billionaire donor Christopher Harborne.
Farage has insisted there is no connection between the gift from Thailand-based crypto-investor Harborne, who has donated millions to Reform UK, and the property purchase.
The party said on Friday that the house was paid for using funds received for participating in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity reality series, which he did in November 2023.
Reports suggested he was given a fee of £1.5 million for the show, in which he finished third.
A Reform UK spokesman said: “The relevant chronology is straightforward. The offer and purchase process for the property commenced before the gift.
“Mr Farage had already passed proof of funds and the relevant checks before receiving the gift. The purchase was therefore already proceeding independently of it.” – The Guardian
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee has today given permission to Andy Burnham to stand in the candidate selection process in the forthcoming by-election for the Makerfield constituency.” – PA
Burnham approved to run in byelection by Labour committee
Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) has approved Andy Burnham’s request to stand in the candidate selection process for the upcoming Makerfield byelection, paving the way for the Greater Manchester mayor to return to parliament.
Burnham still has two more years of his term as mayor, meaning that if he stands there will need to be a mayoral byelection. Under Labour rules, sitting mayors need NEC approval to stand for Westminster. He would also need to be formally selected
Burnham was turned down by the NEC in February before the Gorton and Denton byelection.
But after the sitting Makerfield MP, Josh Simons, said he would give up his seat in the hope Burnham could return, Downing Street, which has a big sway over NEC decisions, indicated it would not do so again. – PA
Conservatives should stand aside in Makerfield byelection, says Reform MP
The Conservatives should stand aside in the Makerfield by-election if they are “serious about stopping Labour’s chaos and decline”, a Reform MP has said.
Andrew Rosindell said his party should be given “a clear run” in the contest as the British public were crying out for a patriotic alternative to Labour socialism.
The MP for Romford defected from the Tories to Reform UK in January.
“If the Conservatives are serious about stopping Labour’s chaos and decline, they should stand aside in this by-election and give a clear run against Andy Burnham.
Burnham may think that his coronation is imminent, but before that, the voters will decide whether they want more Labour failure or a party that puts Britain first,” Rosindell wrote in a post on X. – The Guardian
Friday evening recap
Anyone against Starmer mandate should call for election, says Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch has said that anyone who does not want to “follow” Keir Starmer’s election mandate should call for a general election.
Speaking to the Press Association at an electrical engineering manufacturer in Saffron Walden, in her constituency of North West Essex on Friday, the Conservative Party leader said: “Labour were elected on a particular mandate. Anyone who does not want to follow that mandate should call a general election.
“The truth is, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting, or someone else.
“The problem is the Labour Party. They did not have a plan for government; they only had a plan to win an election.”
It comes after Wes Streeting backed Andy Burnham as Labour’s “best chance” of winning the Makerfield by-election, as the former health secretary’s allies said he would still contest any battle for the party leadership.
The leader of the opposition in the British parliament also told PA that her party “will announce a candidate for that by-election in due course”. – PA
Pound heading for worst week in 18 months
The pound was heading for its worst week in 18 months on Friday as City traders anticipated that Starmer could face a challenge from the Manchester mayor Andy Burnham later this year.
After days of uncertainty over Starmer’s future, sterling dropped by almost three cents, or 2 per cent, during the week to $1.336 on Friday, a five-week low. That would be the largest weekly drop against the US dollar since president Donald Trump’s election win in early November 2024.
The pound fell against the dollar every day this week as leadership tensions gripped Westminster, culminating in the prospect of Burnham challenging Starmer for the role of prime minister after the Greater Manchester mayor announced he would run for parliament in the northwest constituency of Makerfield.
“The pound is weakening this morning after a sharp drop on Thursday, when Andy Burnham threw his hat into the ring,” said Kathleen Brooks, the research director at XTB.
“This is a sign that Burnham is the least market-friendly of all the candidates, as Wes Streeting’s resignation did not have the same negative effect,” Brooks added.
UK government borrowing costs jumped, amid a wider sell-off of sovereign debt. – The Guardian
Stormont leaders concerned by Labour ‘distraction’ amid budget talks request
Northern Ireland’s leaders have expressed concern that the British prime minister Keir Starmer has yet to respond to a request for talks on Stormont’s under-pressure budgetary situation.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly called for the meeting with Starmer a month ago amid claims the powersharing Executive’s budget was at “breaking point”.
Ministers have yet to agree a budget for the current financial year and have insisted they need more financial support from the Treasury to deliver spending plans that avoid dramatic cuts to public services.
On Friday, the co-leaders of the Executive voiced concern that internal turmoil playing out within the Labour Party was sidetracking the prime minister from addressing cost-of-living issues in Northern Ireland, particularly those around the price of fuel.
O’Neill and Little-Pengelly, who spoke to the media separately as they visited the Balmoral agricultural show near Lisburn, said events at Westminster were hampering efforts to agree a budget in Northern Ireland.
“There’s a calamity happening in Westminster and for me that underlines the fact that why we need to take control of our own fortunes here at home,” said O’Neill, the Sinn Féin vice-president.
“I think the continued mess in Westminster, whether it’s this Labour government or the previous Tory government, shows that they never prioritise the needs of people here.
“We’re here at the Balmoral show and the big issue on farmers’ minds is the cost of fuel. This is something that we’ve addressed directly to the British prime minister.
“We’ve asked them [the UK government] to intervene, because the levers in terms of being able to reduce taxes actually sits in Westminster, but there’s so much happening there right now, this debacle, this crisis after crisis, means that they’re not prioritised or focusing on the needs of people here.
“We continue to make that case. We have not had a response from the prime minister in relation to the cost-of-living issues that we have raised directly.
“But we’re going to keep knocking on that door. We’re going to keep fighting for people here, because people here deserve support to get them through these tough times.
“So, I think there’s a lot of distraction happening in Westminster, and therefore we’re only able to get into our real, meaningful discussion with those that will be able to make a decision actually to increase the budget allocation that we have here (when the distraction recedes).
“Remember, what we’re asking for is fairness for people here. We’re asking for a budget allocation that actually serves the needs of all the people.
“We’re asking for support to get people through the cost-of-living crisis, but because of the debacle that’s happening in Westminster, their minds aren’t focused, but we’re going to have to see what unfolds there.
“We’re going to have to keep fighting the fight for our own budget here, and fighting for fairness, for a settlement that actually allows us to deliver for people in the here and now.”
Little-Pengelly, a DUP MLA, said there was “a lot of distraction happening at Westminster”.
“And, of course, that’s not good for Northern Ireland,” she added.
“We want there to be a stable government in the UK to be able to work with us on those very, very important issues. We do want there to be a budget.
“There is a very sizeable gap in what we need in order to keep our frontline services running and what we have received in the budget this year.
“I’ve always said this is not about running to London and simply asking for more money.
“This is about a collaboration with the Northern Ireland Executive where we are prepared to play our part driving that efficiency, looking at how we do public services better, but we need that support in order to invest in that type of transformation, to bring about those efficiencies of services, while making sure people can still get those improvements on the services that they need, for example, on health waiting lists, access to GPs and education.
“So, these are big and important issues. We do want the situation in London to calm down. We do want there to be, of course, that stable government that we’re able to work with, and I’ve said time and time again that I am willing to work constructively with the UK government, with Treasury, to try to make sure we can get our finances on to a sustainable footing.”
Asked if the situation at Westminster was diminishing the prospect of agreeing a budget at Stormont, Litte-Pengelly said: “I think it’s very difficult. We do need, as I’ve said, that support from Treasury in my view to enable us to get that agreed budget.
“So, the sooner that those discussions can happen, the sooner we can get to the position of taking a look at how we can get that budget in place.”
The UK government has been approached for comment.
Trump says it will a ‘tough thing’ for Starmer to survive as prime minister unless he shifts his position
Donald Trump has said it will be a “tough thing” for Keir Starmer to survive as prime minister unless he shifts his position on energy and immigration.
But the US president, who has had a fractious relationship with Starmer over Iran and has repeatedly criticised him, stopped short of saying the Labour leader should quit, and said he thought “he’s a nice man”.
Trump was speaking to reporters on board Air Force One as he returned from his two-day visit to China.
Starmer is currently fighting for his political life as he faces a challenge to his leadership after last week’s disastrous local election results.
Trump has already warned the British prime minister that he was “getting killed on energy” by not boosting oil extraction in the North Sea, and accused him of “windmilling the country to death”.
He has also branded UK immigration policies “insane” and claimed Britain was being “invaded”.
Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said: “He’s in trouble for two reasons, energy and immigration.
“He’s very bad on energy. He should open up the North Sea. He’s got a gold mine and should open up oil in the North Sea, and he doesn’t.
“You know they buy their oil, a lot of it from Norway. Norway gets it from the North Sea, not as good an area as Scotland and the UK, so they’re paying Norway a fortune for oil that they take out of the North Sea.”
Pressed over whether Starmer can survive, Trump said: “It’s a tough thing unless he can straighten out immigration, where he’s weak, and if he doesn’t start drilling, stop with the windmills all over the place that are causing havoc.
“Most expensive form of energy, they kill the birds, they’re unsightly, they’re ruining the landscape.”
The US president added: “He’s got to open up the North Sea, you know, he’s got one of the greatest oil finds anywhere in the world, and he’s not using it. I tell him he’s not using it.
“The oil companies call me every day: ‘Please, please, we want to go to New North Sea.’ He doesn’t allow it to happen.”
Asked if Starmer should quit, Trump said: “I don’t say that. I think he’s a nice man, actually.
“I didn’t like what he said. ‘We’re going to send ships as soon as you’re finished with the wars’, but we are sort of finished militarily, pretty much.”
This was a reference to the planned defensive mission led by Britain and France to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz waterway once the Iran war is over.
The proposed post-conflict operation has been criticised by the White House, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio arguing it “doesn’t make sense”.
Labour pressure group Mainstream has urged the party to allow Andy Burnham to seek selection as its candidate in Makerfield.
The group’s interim council said in a statement: “Uniting behind the strongest possible candidate and running a positive, hopeful campaign with an offer of transformative change at its heart is how Labour will earn the kind permission to continue representing the people of Makerfield in parliament.
“That is why we hope Labour’s national executive committee will ensure Makerfield CLP is free to choose from the widest possible field of candidates in this by-election, a field that should clearly include Andy Burnham.
“Let us seize this opportunity to show the Labour Party at its best and put country before party.”
‘Burnham is knowledgeable about Ireland’
Our London Correspondent, Mark Paul, has written a profile of Andy Burnham, and notes his knowledge of Irish politics. He writes:
“He is knowledgeable about Ireland. Burnham was an energetic campaigner for the families of the Hillsborough tragedy victims in their fight for justice against the British state.
“He appeared to compare their plight to the fight for justice of the families of the victims of Bloody Sunday: “Anyone with an Irish background will know that places in Ireland have been treated in exactly the same way [as Liverpool and Hillsborough] in history.”
You can read more here.
Labour needs its ‘best players on the pitch and Andy Burnham is one of them’, says Streeting
Former health secretary Wes Streeting said Labour needs “our best players on the pitch” and “Andy Burnham is one of them”.
In a post on X, he wrote: “We need our best players on the pitch. There is no doubt that Andy Burnham is one of them.
“The Makerfield by-election will be tough.
“Votes will need to be earned. Andy is the best chance of winning and that should override factional advantage or propping up one person.”
British government bonds, stocks and sterling fall
British government bonds, stocks and sterling fell on Friday, as domestic political uncertainty clashed with global worries about an inflationary shock, leaving UK assets in the mire.
Sterling fell to a five-week low and is down almost two per cent against the dollar this week, set for its biggest weekly drop since November 2024.
British prime minister Keir Starmer is in a battle to hold on to power after his health minister Wes Streeting resigned from government, while others positioned themselves to challenge his leadership, following disastrous local election results last week.
Markets are concerned that a new leader may be willing to loosen fiscal policy more, with British government borrowing costs up sharply again and UK bank stocks selling off on Friday.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has been offered a path for a possible leadership challenge after another Labour lawmaker said he would resign his parliamentary seat. If Burnham were to win the seat, he could then challenge for the party leadership.
“Market’s fear is that Burnham would be more left leaning, and we could see further increase in deficits,” said Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar.
“Our base case is one of a managed exit for Starmer and Burnham likely becoming the next PM,” he added.
The domestic political drama has coincided with another rise in energy prices on Friday and growing evidence that the economic damage from the Iran war is hurting.
US inflation data this week has shown consumers and factories are starting to see big increases in price pressures as a result of the war, which has pushed up the price of crude by over 50 per cent.
The pound has tended to suffer against the dollar when tensions between Washington and Tehran flare or oil prices rise, given Britain’s dependence on energy imports and the economy’s sensitivity to higher fuel costs.
Housing secretary urges Labour colleagues to put ‘country first, party second’
Housing secretary Steve Reed has been on the media round this morning urging Labour colleagues to put the “country first, party second”, even as he admits Keir Starmer is “unpopular”.
When asked by Sky News whether replacing an unpopular prime minister is something the party should consider, he said: “Each of the last four prime ministers, in turn, has been the most unpopular prime minister we’ve ever had.”
He added: “What we need to do is all of us come together behind the prime minister and focus on how we can deliver the change the British public want to see faster.”
A leadership challenge seems all but inevitable, with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham potentially throwing his hat in the ring, but Reed rather bluntly stated “there is no leadership challenge” and hit out at the “internal-facing nonsense” plaguing the party.
He told the BBC: “If people wanted to gather the nominations then it’s open for them to do that – they would need to find enough Labour MPs that wanted to endorse them but nobody has done that.
“It’s been a very difficult week but we need to take a breath now, take this weekend to reflect on what’s going on, and come back next week and focus on the country we were elected to serve.”
Commenting on reports suggesting Starmer was considering his position last night, Reed told Times Radio “that isn’t true”.
Labour MP Josh Simons announced yesterday that he would stand down from his constituency in Makerfield to make way for Burnham to stand as a candidate in a byelection.
Simons said he believed Burnham could “drive the change our country is crying out for”.
“We have lost the trust of those our party was built to serve. It is my unwavering belief that nothing short of urgent, radical, courageous reform will make a difference,” he told BBC Radio Manchester this morning.
Suave communicator and sharp dresser: who is Andy Burnham?
Mark Paul, our London correspondent, profiled Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham in 2024. This is an extract from his article:
“You might expect the mayor of a metropolitan area of 2.8 million people, one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the UK, to wear a jacket and trousers on the job. Burnham dresses well, but this is Manchester – he must reflect its vibe. Today he wears a fitted black blazer over a jet black T-shirt. His skinny black trousers alight on to black suede shoes. He has a bee – Manchester’s civic emblem – tattooed on his right bicep.
He is cool, collected and in control of his patter. He also knows his audience and, despite a carefully affected insouciance, is clearly well prepared. Burnham says he can’t fathom the Dublin riots of last November with their racially tinged edge: “I know Dublin, and that’s not Dublin and its people.”
You can read the full article here.
Britain’s new health secretary, James Murray, has arrived at Downing Street.
Murray said “good morning” to members of the press, but did not answer a question about Keir Starmer’s future.
Uncertainty over Starmer future puts investment at risk, say CEOs
Bosses of some of Britain’s biggest companies have voiced dismay at the turmoil in Westminster, warning that uncertainty over Keir Starmer’s future is putting at risk investment decisions and the country’s reputation.
Chief executives have told the Financial Times that calls for the prime minister to quit, Wes Streeting’s resignation and Andy Burnham’s move to return to parliament were a far cry from the stability and certainty promised by the ruling party in the lead-up to the 2024 general election.
One FTSE 100 chief executive said the government had over the past week “myopically focused on its own infighting and scandals, rather than focusing on the long-awaited action it should be delivering”.
Another chief executive said days of jeopardy for Starmer since Labour suffered dire losses in local and devolved elections amounted to a “lost week in terms of any progress on objectives”, while former J Sainsbury boss Justin King accused ministers of failing to learn “the lessons of the last years of the Conservative administration”.
Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, will say Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner should all be seen as “key players” in the party in a speech on Friday.
Powell will also repeat her support for Burnham’s efforts to return to parliament after Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield, said he would stand aside to let him run for the seat in a byelection.
She will say she is confident Burnham will have the support of the “vast majority of the party and movement” to make a bid to come back to Westminster.
Powell was the only member of Labour’s ruling body to vote in favour of allowing Burnham to stand in a byelection in Gorton and Denton earlier this year, but he was blocked from doing so and the Greens took the seat.
Starmer will not seek to block Burnham from standing this time around, it is understood, but it is not yet guaranteed that he will be chosen as the candidate.
Powell is expected to tell the Fire Brigades’ Union conference: “The election results last week were deeply painful and difficult for our party, and the aftermath has been unedifying for us all too.
“We don’t do hostile takeovers in Labour for a reason. Keir is the leader, and I warned against bloody internal battles reflecting badly.”
But she will also warn that it is a “mistake” to think Labour does not have “further to fall” after dire election results for the party in local polls last week.
Good morning and welcome to another day of political turmoil in Westminster.
As we head into the weekend, moves are well advanced to challenge the leadership of UK prime minister Keir Starmer.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, confirmed on Thursday he would ask Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) to allow him stand in a forthcoming byelection – a necessity in running for the top spot.
And, according to reports in the Guardian, allies of Starmer have confirmed he would not seek to block him doing so.
It means, of course, that Burnham now has a potential route back to parliament and a chance to become Labour’s next leader. It all comes after an MP said he would trigger a byelection by standing down from his seat.
That move has ended days of speculation about whether Burnham could secure a possible path back into Westminster, and underlined the increasingly precarious nature of Starmer’s premiership.
Meanwhile, Wes Streeting has stood down as health secretary after seemingly failing to get the numbers to launch a challenge against the prime minister.
Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, has settled some tricky tax affairs, paving the way for her own return to frontline politics. Further developments on Friday should prove interesting.
