LEFT-WING Labour MPs are considering standing a candidate against Andy Burnham in a future leadership contest over concerns about the Greater Manchester mayor dropping progressive positions on several issues.
Burnham siding with Shabana Mahmood’s proposed immigration reforms and backing UK Government guidance on single-sex spaces are reportedly among several concerns from Labour’s left-flank.
Speaking to reporters after the launch of his by-election campaign, Burnham said last week that he believes that the “UK Government is moving in the right direction” with its immigration policies.
According to The Times, Labour's left-wing MPs don’t want Burnham to be seen as their “saviour” and could potentially stand another candidate if Keir Starmer is challenged over his leadership of the party.
The Greater Manchester Mayor has been tipped to be the future Labour leader if he wins the Makerfield by-election next month and returns to Westminster.
However, a Labour source told The Times that if another left-wing candidate entered the leadership race, it could “concentrate minds” among MPs.
“If Andy is forced to spend six weeks talking about Gaza, then he comes out of it weaker and the party looks like it has learnt nothing,” they said.
One MP on the left of the party also told The Times: “A lot of us are increasingly frustrated that he’s being portrayed as the saviour of the left when he’s nothing of the sort.
“There have been discussions about whether we put up a candidate to try to force him into more progressive positions.”
Another MP, who is part of the Tribune group – which is composed of soft-left members who are part of Burnham’s campaign, highlighted that Burnham’s stance on the likes of Gaza could cause him problems.
They added: “It will be difficult for the supposed supporters of Andy to back him for leader if he keeps offering something on a Monday, then changing his mind on Tuesday.
“His immigration stance and the possible inclusion of Wes [Streeting] as his chancellor will be a problem.”
Diane Abbott, the suspended Labour veteran MP, responded to reports that Burnham would support Mahmood’s immigration reforms by saying: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
John McDonnell, the Labour MP who served as Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow chancellor, previously hinted that there “might be a left candidate” in the race.
Elsewhere, the Greens have selected a new candidate for the Makerfield by-election after dropping their initial pick who suggested attacks on a Jewish ambulance service were a "false flag" operation.
Sarah Wakefield, a 38-year-old charity director and mother of two, has been chosen to represent Zack Polanski's party in the race.
She said: "It is vital in a democracy that voters are given a choice of who they want to vote for. Together we can bring back the hope that politics can create a better life for ourselves and our children. This is what the Green Party represents.
“We showed in Gorton and Denton we can take on and beat Reform, whose backward-looking and divisive politics needs to be challenged head-on with a message that the future can be better and fairer than the failed status quo. Don’t vote in anger, vote in hope.”
Scores of Labour MPs have called for the Prime Minister to stand down in the wake of an electoral hammering earlier this month across Scotland, Wales and English councils.
Burnham launched his campaign saying “a vote for me in this by-election is a vote to change Labour”.
