Andy Burnham is reportedly considering calling a snap general election if he succeeds in ousting Keir Starmer as Labour leader and entering Downing Street, as preparations for a potential transition of power accelerate behind the scenes — including discussions about a major Cabinet reshuffle that would see Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood installed as Chancellor.
The revelations, reported by the Sun, paint a picture of a leadership operation already functioning as a shadow government-in-waiting, even before Burnham has secured a seat in Parliament. The Greater Manchester Mayor is expected to win next month’s Makerfield by-election, which would make him eligible to launch a formal leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer — a contest that polling suggests he would win comfortably.
A senior Labour source told the Sun that Burnham’s team had begun modelling the possibility of going to the country early to secure his own mandate. “Andy considering an early general election. They are wargaming it,” the source said. “But Labour MPs would absolutely hate it. They are worried about losing their seats. If Andy becomes PM I expect he will have to promise the PLP that he will not call a snap election. They will want him to sign the pledge in blood.”
The prospect of Mahmood as Chancellor is said to stem from a pre-existing agreement between the two. A senior party source told the Sun: “Shabana is meant to have done a deal with Andy to be his Chancellor. That is why she let it be known she had told Keir to go. She was manoeuvring to get a big job.” Mahmood was among senior Cabinet ministers who reportedly urged Starmer to outline a timetable for his departure during tense discussions earlier this month.
The ambitions extend beyond individual appointments. Sources claim Buckingham Palace has been approached to establish whether there would be any constitutional objections to a second King’s Speech being delivered later this year, should a new Prime Minister wish to introduce a fresh legislative programme — a move that would signal a decisive break from the agenda on which Labour won the 2024 general election.
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is expected to return to a senior Cabinet role under a Burnham leadership, with insiders suggesting she would be handed a prominent portfolio. Lucy Powell is likewise tipped for a significant position. Burnham is also said to be receiving advice from Sue Gray, Starmer’s former chief of staff, whose departure from Downing Street last year generated accusations of factionalism within the party.
Josh Simons, the Labour MP who vacated the Makerfield seat to create a route back to Westminster for Burnham, is expected to be rewarded. While some supporters believe he could secure an influential policy role in Downing Street, insiders suggest a peerage and a move to the House of Lords may be the more likely outcome.
Burnham has been careful in public to avoid explicitly calling for Starmer’s resignation, framing his Makerfield campaign instead as a vehicle for changing the direction of the Labour Party. He has argued that Britain has spent decades on the wrong economic course and repeatedly called for Labour to reconnect with working-class voters. But the scale and pace of the preparations being made on his behalf suggest his allies regard a leadership change as a matter of when rather than if.
Neither Burnham nor members of his team have publicly commented on the claims.
