About 200 Labour MPs gathered around Andy Burnham for a photograph on Monday 22 June 2026, after he was sworn in as the new MP for Makerfield. The picture was meant to say that the party’s leadership question was close to settled. Within a day, two names had complicated it.
According to the Daily Star, cabinet minister Darren Jones and former armed forces minister Al Carns were being considered as candidates by Labour MPs who did not want to install Burnham without a contest. Each would need the backing of 81 Labour MPs to stand. Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer, who had announced he was stepping down, had authorised access talks with “prospective candidates”. Nominations were due to open on 9 July.
A challenge that may not materialise
The BBC reported that the numbers looked unfavourable for any rival. Wes Streeting, then the health secretary, had already dropped his own bid. Many MPs who stayed loyal to Starmer to the end were described as highly sceptical of a challenge, which made it seem unlikely that Jones or Carns could gather the 81 supporters required. An ally of Jones played down the chances that he would run, saying he simply wanted to know more about Burnham’s platform, economic policy in particular.
Ministers were lining up behind the frontrunner. Nick Thomas-Symonds, a Cabinet Office minister, said Labour needed “someone with a track record of delivery and delivering change” and someone “best placed to defeat Reform at the next general election”. He pointed to Burnham’s win over Reform by more than 9,000 votes in Makerfield. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said she did not believe any rival had enough support.
Not everyone agreed that the matter should be closed. Nadia Whittome, who sits in Labour’s Socialist Campaign Group, argued that candidates should set out their positions openly and face scrutiny from members and unions. Jo White, one of the party’s Red Wall MPs, called a contest “a pointless charade” and warned that it would drag the party’s internal debate into September. Luke Akehurst, a member of the party’s National Executive Committee, predicted that Burnham might secure the leadership at the nomination stage on 16 July.
The red wall problem
The harder test lies outside the parliamentary party. Before the by-election, The Independent visited Ashton-in-Makerfield, a former mining town four miles south of Wigan. Labour had held the seat since its creation in 1983 and once enjoyed a majority of more than 20,000, but Josh Simons won it with about 5,000 at the last general election as Reform ate into the vote. In the local elections, Reform took 24 of the 25 seats on Wigan Council, and its candidates won every ward that falls wholly or partly inside Makerfield. Nigel Farage said his party would “throw absolutely everything” at the contest.
Residents gave mixed verdicts. Shelley Briody, 68, had stopped voting Labour because of Starmer, yet said Burnham was the one figure who could bring her back. Gillian Smith, 71, a former Conservative who switched to Reform, said “I feel like we’re being used”. Andy Connellan, a swing voter, liked Burnham’s plain speaking but wondered aloud whether he could bring those voters out given the large swing to Reform at the locals.
The Independent put it bluntly: the contest would “test brand Burnham to its limits”. He had won 66 per cent of the vote in Wigan at his last election as mayor.
Sources
- Andy Burnham faces hurdles in path to power as Labour rivals 'step forward' – Daily Star
- Ministers support Burnham as Labour MPs split over possible contest for leadership – BBC News
- Makerfield: Does the 'King of the North' have what it takes to keep this post-industrial town red? – The Independent
