British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted that he would run in any Labour leadership race if one were called when Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham returns to parliament after his victory in the Makerfield by-election, PA Media/DPA and Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The Prime Minister is under pressure to hand over power to Burnham, who, despite national trends, managed to increase the share of the vote for Labour in Makerfield, where Nigel Farage's “Reform UK“ party achieved significant success in the local election last month.
But Starmer insisted he "will not give up" 10 Downing Street and appeared to push Labour towards a leadership contest, as Burnham insisted his victory represented a "moment of change" for Britain.
"If there is a contest then yes, I will stand," Starmer told reporters at an event in north London. "I have said many times that I will not give up on this," he added.
The prime minister said he had not yet spoken to Burnham personally following his victory, but added that he would and had already sent him a congratulatory message.
"Let's come together as a party and a movement," Starmer urged his supporters. "One thing we must avoid doing is plunging our party and our country into chaos by turning against each other," he added.
Starmer said Burnham's victory was proof that "the momentum is turning against 'Reform (UK)' and they can no longer win by-elections."
"We've been on a path for 40 years that just doesn't work for the people and places in this part of the world and now is the time to change," Burnham told a Labour rally after his victory.
"We have an opportunity to turn the momentum around, to make the country feel like it's working again, to make people see that politics can bring about positive change, to make people feel hopeful again," he added. he.
“I think we need that in the country right now - for people to feel hope that there is something better on the horizon to work for,“ he added.
Burnham called for reindustrialization, government reform and an end to the “injustice” of the immigration system, which he said people often mentioned to him during the election campaign.