Starmer Sees Party Rival Burnham in the British Government

“Yes, I want him to play a major role in the government,” the Labour politician told Sky journalist Beth Rigby when asked if he would offer Burnham a position. However, it remains questionable whether this would allow Starmer to remain in office or at least buy himself some time.

The popular Burnham, who is currently still the mayor of Manchester, is already being touted as a potential successor to the hapless and unpopular prime minister.

On Thursday, a special election for a seat in Parliament will take place in the Makerfield constituency, with Burnham running for Labor. It is considered all but certain that Burnham intends to challenge Starmer for the party leadership in the event of an election victory—but to do so, he first needs a seat in Parliament.

Starmer said he plans to speak with Burnham after the weekend. He has done so frequently in recent weeks anyway. “He’s a great asset; he was a fantastic mayor in Manchester,” emphasized the embattled leader. Burnham is “a fantastic asset to our party and to our country.”

Starmer is in the midst of a seemingly hopeless crisis. He has been under internal party pressure for months, and several ministers have recently turned their backs on him. Most recently, the Labour Party suffered a crushing defeat in the local and regional elections in England, Scotland, and Wales, sustaining heavy losses to the right-wing populists of Reform UK. If Starmer does not announce his resignation himself, there is likely to be an attempt to oust him within the parliamentary caucus.