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Culture Secretary weighs in on Labour leadership speculation
Lisa Nandy has described Keir Starmer's potential response to a leadership challenge as a "personal decision", as internal party tensions escalate following last week's electoral setbacks. The Culture Secretary, speaking to the BBC, declined to predict whether the prime minister would face a contest but emphasised his track record of resilience.
Starmer defies calls to step down
Nearly 90 Labour MPs and five cabinet ministers have publicly urged Starmer to resign in recent days, citing the party's poor performance in local elections. Despite the pressure, the prime minister has insisted he will not quit, telling allies he would contest any leadership vote if triggered. Nandy, a longtime ally of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, stopped short of endorsing a change at the top, stating: "I don't think he should be replaced. If I did, I wouldn't be in his cabinet."
She acknowledged, however, that voters had sent a clear message: "People feel they haven't seen enough fight from us." Nandy pointed to Starmer's 2024 general election victory-achieved after critics dismissed Labour's chances of regaining power in a single term-as evidence of his determination. "He's shown before that he's up for a fight," she added.
Burnham eyes return to Westminster
Andy Burnham, the popular Greater Manchester mayor, is poised to launch a leadership bid if he wins the upcoming Makerfield by-election. The Labour National Executive Committee (NEC) cleared his path to stand as the party's candidate this week, reversing an earlier decision to block his candidacy. Burnham's ally, Josh Simons, resigned his seat to facilitate the mayor's return to Parliament, with Starmer's team signalling they would not obstruct the move.
Nandy, who campaigned alongside Burnham in Makerfield on Saturday, admitted the contest would be "a tough fight". Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, made significant gains in the area during last week's local elections, though precise constituency-level data remains unavailable due to misaligned ward boundaries. Labour won Makerfield by 5,399 votes in 2024, but Reform has led national polls since spring 2025.
Burnham's supporters argue his personal popularity in Greater Manchester-where he secured three consecutive mayoral landslides-could offset the national surge in support for Reform. "Because of Andy's record as mayor, people who didn't vote for us last week were saying they would vote for us again," Nandy said. She framed his potential return as vital for Labour's future, stating: "He is a really important voice that needs to be heard loud and clear at the centre of Westminster."
Leadership race takes shape
Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary earlier this week, confirmed on Saturday that he would stand in any future leadership contest. The former minister used a speech to label Brexit a "catastrophic mistake" and advocate for the UK's eventual re-entry into the European Union, reigniting a divisive debate within Labour.
Burnham has also suggested rejoining the EU could be a long-term goal but stressed he was "not advocating that in this by-election". Nandy, a Remain campaigner in 2016, pushed back against framing the EU as a panacea for Labour's struggles. "If the answer to all of this was the European Union, then essentially we'd be saying to people what was going on in 2015 in towns like Wigan was absolutely fine," she said. "Well, I can tell you that it wasn't." She cited deindustrialisation and declining living standards as deeper structural issues.
By-election seen as critical test
Simons, the outgoing MP for Makerfield, warned that losing the by-election would pose an "existential" threat to Labour. "This contest is about a fundamental question for my party: can we win back the trust of working-class people?" he told the BBC. A victory, he suggested, could unify Labour's disparate factions.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the leadership speculation, arguing: "The problem is the Labour Party," regardless of who leads it. The Makerfield by-election is expected to serve as a bellwether for Labour's ability to retain its traditional base amid rising support for Reform UK.
