"Andy Burnham has said MPs have privately called on him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer to become prime minister. In the Daily Telegraph the Manchester mayor, who is not currently an MP, said he was not "plotting to get back" to Westminster but in the interview he did not rule out running again for the leadership. "I stood twice to be leader of the Labour Party. And I think that tells you, doesn't it?""
"The mayor also told the Telegraph that Number 10 had created a "climate of fear" among some MPs. "People have contacted me throughout the summer", he said when asked if other MPs had urged him to run for the Labour leadership. "I'm not going to say to you that that hasn't happened, but as I say, it's more a decision for those people than it is for me.""
"where he criticised the prime minister's approach, saying there needed to be "wholesale change" to see off an "existential" threat to Labour. Burnham said he was not attracted to going back to the old way of doing things in Westminster but added: "I'm happy to play any role. I am ready to play any role in that. Yes. Because the threat we're facing is increasingly an existential one.""
MPs privately urged Andy Burnham to challenge Sir Keir Starmer, and Burnham remains open to a Labour leadership bid despite not being an MP. The Manchester mayor rejected being "plotting to get back" to Westminster but did not rule out running again, noting previous leadership bids. Recent pressure on the prime minister followed the resignation of deputy Angela Rayner and the sacking of Peter Mandelson, and Number 10 has created a "climate of fear" among some MPs. Calls for "wholesale change" aim to counter an "existential" threat to Labour; Burnham expressed readiness to play any role and to work with other parties, but must first become an MP before pursuing a formal leadership challenge.
Read at www.bbc.com
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