I plan to challenge Starmer for leadership, Burnham confirms

Saturday, 6 June 2026

Andy Burnham stands with supporters during the launch of his campaign as Labour's candidate for the Makerfield by-election in Makerfield, England.

Britain

Andy Burnham fired the starting gun on his attempt to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister yesterday as he confirmed that he would join a Labour leadership race.

The Greater Manchester mayor, who is vying to win the Makerfield by-election, said the “only question” would be whether he could convince Labour MPs to give him their backing.

Appearing on the BBC's Question Time from Makerfield, Burnham said: “I’m not somebody who gets ahead of myself. I can’t do anything unless I’m lucky enough to get the support of people here. But if I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level and give this constituency maximum power and influence. I think Wes Streeting [the former health secretary] seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running, I would seek to join it.”

He added: “But I'd have to persuade members of the parliamentary Labour Party to do the same. So that’s the only question … I’ve said to my team, let's have a proper look at this and let's develop a policy.” It was the first public confirmation from Burnham that he would challenge Starmer to be prime minister, although the move had been widely expected.

Starmer has said he will defend his leadership in any contest.

Burnham used the Question Time by-election special to attack Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, over his reaction to the murder of the student Henry Nowak, and also suggested he could review the exemption that allows Sikhs to carry ceremonial knives.

Burnham repeatedly clashed with Rob Kenyon, the Reform UK candidate thought to be his main opponent in the by-election, over policing, immigration and social cohesion. Kenyon also faced questions over past comments online which have led to him being accused of sexism and homophobia. Asked by Sarah Wakefield, the Green Party candidate, if he would apologise to the broadcaster Carol Vorderman for graphic sexual comments about her that he endorsed online, Kenyon did not do so. He said some remarks had been made 15 years ago and were “completely taken out of context”. He added: “I’ve made mistakes. I’ve said things years ago that I wouldn’t say now.”

Wakefield accused him of failing to offer a “simple apology” and said Reform had “a problem with women”.

Kenyon also used the programme to call for a ban on all knife-carrying exemptions, including those granted for religious reasons. He said Reform would “ban knives, regardless of religious background”.

Kenyon said Nowak’s murder proved the existence of “two-tier policing” in Britain and claimed officers were more concerned about allegations of racism than responding to a dying teenager.

In his criticism of Farage, Burnham referred to unrest that followed the killing, saying: “The ringleaders of that violence used exactly the same words as the leader of the Reform Party when they were orchestrating that violence.” Asked if he would support a ban on people carrying knives for religious reasons he said: “I think there’s a case to look at that again.”

Earlier, in an interview with The New Statesman, Burnham suggested the Brexit referendum could have turned out differently if he had been Labour leader.

Meanwhile Rupert Lowe, the leader of Restore Britain, told Times Radio the BBC had breached its editorial charter by failing to invite his candidate on to the Question Time special.