Nandy Calls Starmer's Leadership Fight a Personal Decision as Burnham Eyes Makerfield Test
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 17
Nandy Calls Starmer's Leadership Fight a Personal Decision as Burnham Eyes Makerfield Test
6 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 17
Lisa Nandy said Keir Starmer's choice to fight any Labour leadership contest is "a very personal decision," while noting he has already said he would stand and has "shown before that he's up for a fight."
Her comments follow Labour's disastrous local election results, after nearly 90 Labour MPs urged Starmer to quit and five ministers resigned, intensifying pressure on the prime minister.
Nandy also backed Andy Burnham's return to Westminster through the Makerfield by-election, saying the Greater Manchester mayor should be "at the heart of power" after Labour's NEC cleared him to seek selection.
Makerfield has become a high-stakes test for Labour: the party won it by 5,399 votes in 2024, but Reform UK took roughly 50% of the local vote in the area and Josh Simons called defeat "existential."
The contest could shape Labour's wider direction, with Burnham widely expected to launch a leadership bid if he wins and rivals already split over issues such as whether Britain should eventually rejoin the EU.
Can the 'King of the North' win a tough by-election before he can challenge for the Labour party leadership?
As Reform UK captures Labour's heartlands, is the party fighting for its leadership or for its very survival?
With the pound falling amid Labour's civil war, what is the ultimate economic price of this political instability?