THE "chaos" of Labour infighting has reached north of the Border, the SNP have said, after a senior Scottish Labour MSP appeared to back Andy Burnham as Prime Minister over Keir Starmer.
Monica Lennon, Scottish Labour MSP for Central Scotland, said Burnham has her "support", amid speculation the Greater Manchester mayor could potentially make a return to Westminster politics.
It comes as Starmer's party has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks – from the resignation of Angela Rayner from the Government amid a row over her tax affairs, to the sacking of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador over his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Appearing on Good Morning Scotland on Saturday, Lennon was asked by journalist Lucy Whyte whether she believed Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham would be a better candidate for Labour leader than Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Whyte said: "I wanted to ask you about some of the pressure that's on the Prime Minister at the moment, on Keir Starmer, certainly at the start of the week, quite a lot of question marks hanging over his leadership, and a lot of attention on the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
"I wonder if he, you think, would be a better candidate at the helm of Labour?"
Lennon responded: "Andy Burnham is a fantastic colleague, as are all of my colleagues.
"So whatever Andy chooses to do, he would have my support in the future."
Burnham has been Greater Manchester mayor since 2017. Before that, he served in Gordon Brown's cabinet in several roles, in addition to the shadow cabinet.
The SNP said the "chaos" of Labour Party infighting has reached north of the Border, as they called on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar to clarify whether he takes the same position as Lennon.
SNP MSP Clare Haughey said: "Labour Party chaos now appears to have reached their branch office.
"A senior Labour MSP offering her backing to Andy Burnham is dire news for Starmer, who has clearly lost control of his party after weeks of resignations and sackings.
"It also raises questions for Anas Sarwar – does he share Ms Lennon's unqualified support for Starmer's main challenger or are his MSPs divided over this too?"
Haughey added: "While the Labour Party fight among themselves, the SNP are getting on with delivering on people's priorities and a fresh start for Scotland with independence."
Scottish Labour have been contacted for comment.
