We can’t wait for Burnham, Labour MPs say as race to replace Starmer comes down to Rayner vs Streeting
Labour MPs are preparing for a leadership contest to succeed Keir Starmer amid expectations of poor election results, narrowing the race to Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting. While Andy Burnham remains popular with party members, his absence from Parliament makes a timely bid unlikely. Some MPs argue the party cannot wait for Burnham to return before initiating a leadership race.
- ▪The leadership race to replace Keir Starmer is emerging as a contest between Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting.
- ▪Andy Burnham, though popular with Labour members, is not currently an MP and would need to secure a seat to launch a leadership bid.
- ▪Labour faces potentially devastating losses in upcoming local and devolved elections, with predictions of over 1,800 seat losses.
- ▪Some Labour MPs believe the upcoming election results could effectively end Keir Starmer's tenure as party leader.
- ▪The Socialist Campaign Group is the only faction actively advocating to delay the leadership race for Burnham.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
NewsUKUK PoliticsWe can’t wait for Burnham, Labour MPs say as race to replace Starmer comes down to Rayner vs StreetingLabour MPs are gearing up for a leadership battle to replace the wounded Keir Starmer ahead of an expectation of catastrophic election results next weekDavid Maddox Political Editor Friday 01 May 2026 13:11 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2968776","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-next-prime-minister-angela-rayner-wes-streeting-andy-burnham-b2968776.html","title":"We can’t wait for…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Independent.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from The Independent
