{"id":4378,"date":"2026-01-26T09:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T09:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/chris-mason-burnham-saga-unlikely-to-be-last-act-in-drama-of-starmers-leadership\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T09:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T09:14:12","slug":"chris-mason-burnham-saga-unlikely-to-be-last-act-in-drama-of-starmers-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/chris-mason-burnham-saga-unlikely-to-be-last-act-in-drama-of-starmers-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Mason: Burnham saga unlikely to be last act in drama of Starmer&#8217;s leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Chris Mason: Burnham saga unlikely to be last act in drama of Starmer&#8217;s leadership<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline\" class=\"sc-3adb3607-0 fkltMW\">\n<div class=\"sc-3adb3607-1 irDEMC\"><time datetime=\"2026-01-25T17:41:21.544Z\" class=\"sc-3adb3607-2 dXwGZV\">15 hours ago<\/time><\/div>\n<p><span data-testid=\"byline-contributors\" class=\"sc-3adb3607-12 csUdlZ\" readability=\"1\"><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-contributors-contributor-0\" class=\"sc-3adb3607-5 iMnQuR\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><span class=\"sc-3adb3607-8 dcphMW\">Chris Mason<\/span><span data-testid=\"byline-contributors-contributor-0-role-location\" class=\"sc-3adb3607-9 dRohlg\">Political editor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 eRlINq\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/KnsIsi.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/2c1a\/live\/c74a9f80-fa8b-11f0-9296-4db2df5fb403.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/2c1a\/live\/c74a9f80-fa8b-11f0-9296-4db2df5fb403.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/2c1a\/live\/c74a9f80-fa8b-11f0-9296-4db2df5fb403.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/2c1a\/live\/c74a9f80-fa8b-11f0-9296-4db2df5fb403.jpg.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/2c1a\/live\/c74a9f80-fa8b-11f0-9296-4db2df5fb403.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/2c1a\/live\/c74a9f80-fa8b-11f0-9296-4db2df5fb403.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/2c1a\/live\/c74a9f80-fa8b-11f0-9296-4db2df5fb403.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/2c1a\/live\/c74a9f80-fa8b-11f0-9296-4db2df5fb403.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Getty Images Sir Keir Starmer in a black suit and red tie. He is wearing glasses. The Union Jack is in the background.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\" readability=\"32.04641350211\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The other day I compared the saga of Andy Burnham, his ambitions and the forthcoming by-election in Greater Manchester to a long and twisting marble run.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">If, and it was a big if, the marble trundled all the way to the bottom, it was possible to imagine Burnham as prime minister, before this year was out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">But, as I said then, it was also possible the marble would fly off the run spectacularly \u2013 which is precisely what has now happened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In an exercise of brute power, which is simultaneously an illustration of how they perceive their own weakness, No 10 has scuppered Burnham&#8217;s attempted run from Manchester to Westminster and perhaps on to Downing Street.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Yes, this was a decision taken by a committee of the Labour Party, but allies of Sir Keir Starmer are making it perfectly clear he joined the remote meeting on Sunday morning and he cast a vote to block Andy Burnham.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The relationship between the two men has long been fascinating to observe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\" readability=\"34.170794192997\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Burnham&#8217;s first act in politics was very much as a creature of Westminster: an adviser, an MP for 16 years, a cabinet minister. He has run for the Labour leadership twice before. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Here he is talking to me more than a decade ago about his ambition to be prime minister. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">He later reinvented himself &#8211; by defining himself against Westminster as the Mayor of Greater Manchester.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">But his ambitions beyond the north west of England have long been transparent &#8211; and long provoked a roll of the eyes or a raised eyebrow from Sir Keir.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Burnham&#8217;s interventions last autumn, around the time of Labour&#8217;s annual conference, deeply irritated many within the party. He gave an interview to The New Statesman, which carried the less than cryptic headline &#8220;Andy Burnham&#8217;s plan for Britain.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Shortly after came an interview in The Telegraph, headlined &#8220;Andy Burnham: MPs want me to challenge Starmer&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Burnham&#8217;s team would point out, rightly, that politicians don&#8217;t write the headlines but the wider point stands \u2013 his desires were very, very clear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Just the other day, he set out in The Guardian how he believed his approach to his mayoralty in Greater Manchester could be applied nationally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 gXmhTb\">&#8216;You should not block democracy&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\" readability=\"55\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Of course, aspiring to lead the country is noble, but it shouldn&#8217;t be surprising that the current occupier of that role might have a rather sniffy view of such manoeuvring, particularly when Starmer can argue that it is he who won Labour&#8217;s colossal majority not Burnham, whatever people might think of how governing has gone for Labour since.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">No 10 has calculated that it would rather weather a short-term storm \u2013 the gales of reaction for and against this decision currently gusting across social media \u2013 than authorise a circus lasting weeks, then months, with Burnham as a by-election candidate and one question dominating: what&#8217;s your plan if you become prime minister?<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid no-one is convinced that Andy is coming in to be a team player and the last thing we should do is allow this kind of psychodrama,&#8221; one senior party figure tells me, adding: &#8220;We can&#8217;t allow insecurity and destabilisation to indulge one man&#8217;s personal ambition.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Others are livid, arguing it is absurd and counterproductive to spike the prospects of someone they see as one of the party&#8217;s brightest lights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;You should not block democracy. Keir is running scared and it&#8217;s a very bad look,&#8221; one senior Labour MP said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">All this means that in the space of just a few months, those loyal to the prime minister have briefed heavily against Health Secretary Wes Streeting, whose ambitions they view with nervousness too &#8211; and have now blocked Andy Burnham from returning to Westminster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">They argue that the electorate is sick of political soap opera and they want to get on with governing \u2013 against a tricky international and domestic backdrop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Their critics, within the Labour Party and beyond, say both are acts of a weak prime minister seeking to cripple capable rivals who might, they argue, do a considerably better job than him in No 10.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">This will likely be far from the last act this year in the drama of Sir Keir Starmer&#8217;s leadership, and how much of a future it has.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 GunZh\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/KnsIsi.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/e238\/live\/4cff4b00-fa12-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.png.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/e238\/live\/4cff4b00-fa12-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.png.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e238\/live\/4cff4b00-fa12-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/e238\/live\/4cff4b00-fa12-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.png.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/e238\/live\/4cff4b00-fa12-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.png.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/e238\/live\/4cff4b00-fa12-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/e238\/live\/4cff4b00-fa12-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.png.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e238\/live\/4cff4b00-fa12-11f0-a422-4ba8a094a8fa.png.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A red graphic banner that says on it Politics Essential. Top Political analysis in your inbox every day. There's a picture of Westminster next to the writing\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Published at Sun, 25 Jan 2026 17:41:21 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chris Mason: Burnham saga unlikely to be last act in drama of Starmer&#8217;s leadership 15 hours ago Chris MasonPolitical editor Getty Images The other day I compared the saga of Andy Burnham, his ambitions and the forthcoming by-election in Greater Manchester to a long and twisting marble run. If, and it was a big if,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/chris-mason-burnham-saga-unlikely-to-be-last-act-in-drama-of-starmers-leadership\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Chris Mason: Burnham saga unlikely to be last act in drama of Starmer&#8217;s leadership<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-politics","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}