Andy Burnham’s hopes of returning to Westminster to mount a leadership bid suffered a significant setback on Tuesday after the MP whose constituency had been mooted as a potential route back into parliament flatly refused to stand aside — and backed Sir Keir Starmer to remain in office.
Marie Rimmer, who has represented St Helens South and Whiston since 2015, said she had no intention of giving up her seat for anyone and dismissed speculation that Burnham had been in contact with her about it. “I’m not planning to stand down for anybody,” she told the Guardian. “I was selected by my constituency party and it’s my constituency party who decides who stands. I’ve not spoken to Andy Burnham in years and neither has he spoken to me.” Burnham’s allies disputed that, saying the two had in fact spoken recently.
Rimmer, 78, who has experienced periods of ill health in recent times, was equally dismissive of calls for Starmer to resign. “I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. It’s chaos. We will end up looking like the Tories. There’s far too much going on in the world today. It’s just a nonsense to me, panic stations like this.”
Her intervention exposes one of the central practical obstacles facing Burnham’s prospective leadership campaign. The Greater Manchester mayor currently holds no seat in parliament, having left Westminster when he won the mayoral contest, and cannot stand for the Labour leadership without one. In January, Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee blocked him from competing in the Gorton and Denton by-election, effectively sidelining him. Allies have since looked at other options, and Rimmer’s constituency had been named by sources close to Burnham as one possibility — a suggestion she has now firmly rejected.
The NEC’s position may not be fixed, however. Sources on Labour’s ruling committee told the Guardian that the officers’ group “could move if there was clearly a question mark over political authority,” though they stressed a by-election would need to be called before any such decision could be taken. Another source said “things could move” should Starmer clearly no longer command the confidence of enough of his MPs to continue as Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, a parallel operation is under way on behalf of Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Supporters of Streeting have begun publicly calling for the Prime Minister to stand down and oversee a “swift” transition — language widely read as designed to favour Streeting over Burnham, given that the Health Secretary is already in parliament and would not require a by-election to enter a leadership contest.
The manoeuvring reflects a Labour Party that has not yet resolved whether Starmer will go — or who would replace him if he did. More than 70 MPs have now signed letters urging the Prime Minister to set a departure timetable, and the first government minister, communities junior minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, formally resigned on Tuesday morning with a public call for an “orderly transition.” Starmer has so far refused to budge.
