Labour needs to have a “battle of ideas”, not of personalities, a minister has said amid ongoing talk of a leadership challenge to replace Sir Keir Starmer.
The call for a debate over the future of Labour’s soul comes as the prospect of a challenge to the Prime Minister’s authority loomed closer, after Andy Burnham was cleared to run for selection in the Makerfield by-election.
Wes Streeting – who quit as health secretary this week but stopped short of triggering a leadership contest – is set to make his first public appearance since he resigned when he speaks at a conference in London.
Mr Streeting is among those who have backed Mr Burnham’s bid to fight the impending by-election, saying Labour needs “our best players on the pitch”.
Speaking at the Progress conference on Saturday morning ahead of Mr Streeting’s appearance, communities minister Alison McGovern said Labour had been left “reeling” from its election defeats last week.
But she also added: “Too often I think we’ve been caught up in the wrong kind of battle. It’s a battle of ideas that’s needed, not a battle of personalities.
“I must be in the top per cent of people in the country most interested in politics, and if all the political news, half low-grade soap opera, half predictable horse race, makes me want to switch off, God knows what anyone just trying to get on with their life thinks.
“So we have to put forward our ideas in a way that’s new, not the old battles of left and right swinging it out, but practical progressive ideas that show our values.”
In a further sign of division over whether Sir Keir should continue as Prime Minister, Ms McGovern later said that leadership in progressive ideas is “never provided by just one man, but by each and every one of us in this room”.
In the case of Andy Burnham, he has recovered from a dip in support in February to now lead Starmer by 33 points - his largest lead so far in our polling.
— Survation. (@Survation) May 14, 2026
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“That will carry us towards the next election with hope in our hearts,” she added.
Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), granted Mr Burnham permission to stand in the selection process for the Makerfield by-election on Friday night.
The Greater Manchester mayor is seeking to replace Josh Simons, who is standing down as an MP to make way for Mr Burnham to return to Parliament.
Applications close on Monday and the NEC will endorse a candidate on Thursday. June 18 is thought to be the earliest date a by-election could take place.
If he is successfully elected, Mr Burnham is widely expected to challenge Sir Keir for the party leadership.
While Makerfield is typically a safe seat for Labour, the party expects a stiff challenge from Reform UK this time around.
Mr Simons secured a majority of just 5,399 over Nigel Farage’s party at the 2024 general election.
Since then, Labour’s polling collapse and Reform’s surge have seen their positions reverse.
This month’s local elections saw Reform win every council ward in the Makerfield constituency, securing around half the vote, while Labour won only a little more than a quarter.
But Mr Burnham could benefit from his strong personal following across the North West, where he enjoys a net favourability rating of 24% according to pollster Ipsos – considerably higher than any of the party leaders or the Labour Party itself.
A Survation forecast suggested that with Mr Burnham as a candidate, Labour is more likely to win than Reform UK, but without him, Mr Farage’s party is likely to take the seat.
YouGov has meanwhile found that 31% of the public believe Mr Burnham looks like a prime minister in waiting, while 27% feel he does not. Some 42% are unsure either way.
The pollster’s survey of 4,444 people carried out on May 15 also found that nearly half of Labour voters, 46%, thought the Greater Manchester Mayor would make a fitting prime minister, while 20% did not.
Candidate selection processes are already under way for Reform UK and the Greens.
