Andy Burnham has passed the threshold of Labor MP nominations required to formally trigger a Labor leadership contest, according to three sources close to the matter, and intends to submit the list to Keir Starmer to ask him to stand down.
Burnham has no plans to cause a race on Friday or over the weekend, but is ready with a list of supporters to show Starmer. “A race is in nobody’s interest and we hope Keir comes to his senses,” said an insider.
Nominations from 20 per cent of Labor MPs – 81 in this case – are required to trigger a leadership contest under Labor Party rules. Burnham has crossed the threshold following an undercover operation in recent weeks involving a select number of MPs and at least one parliamentary private secretary. The operation is organized in “cells”, where each deputy organizer is responsible for a small number of colleagues, and only a few figures have seen the whole board. This was the same technique used to organize the “reasonable amendment” rebellion against welfare cuts last summer.
The talks to bring the deputies will continue in the following hours and days. Some are “80 per cent there” and are likely to be added to Burnham’s supporters’ table after the Makerfield result, an insider said. Many others have pledged to support Burnham after a contest has already been launched, they added.
It is not clear when Burnham and Starmer might speak in the coming days. A Burnham campaign source said they don’t know when Starmer will want to talk to Burnham, suggesting different times at different points. The pair had no direct contact during the campaign.
(Further reading: What will happen in the early mayoral elections in Manchester?)
