The path to Downing Street might look open for Andy Burnham after his most obvious leadership rival, Wes Streeting, backed him this morning (22 June). But nominations for Labour leadership candidates do not close until 9 July, meaning there is plenty of time for other wings of the party to field their own candidate.
On Tuesday morning, two potential names appeared in the rumour-mill: Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Al Carns, the former armed forces minister who resigned earlier this month over the Defence Investment Plan. (Neither have confirmed their intention to run). It has been suggested that Jones is being urged to stand by other loyalists to prevent a Burnham coronation, though one MP in that camp told me that Burnham has “such a head of steam behind him” that contesting will be difficult. Carns, who has long been rumoured as a potential challenger, has not ruled himself out.
Will there be a candidate from the left of the party? In Labour leadership elections past, the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) has been known to field candidates in order to push frontrunners leftwards. This caucus of left-wing MPs was founded in 1982 following Tony Benn’s bid for deputy leadership. John McDonnell stood as Gordon Brown’s only challenger in 2007, for instance, though he failed to breach the nomination threshold. Diane Abbott stood on behalf of the group in 2010. And in the last Labour leadership election in 2020, Rebecca Long-Bailey stood against Keir Starmer. (The exception to the rule is, of course, former SCG member Jeremy Corbyn, who won the Labour leadership in 2015.)
There is concern about a Burnham premiership within the group. Briefings that he will keep Shabana Mahmood on as Home Secretary have gone down poorly among MPs on the Labour left, who oppose her immigration reforms. Members are also watching out for Burnham’s predecessor as Makerfield MP Josh Simons being given a formal role. Simons resigned as a minister after stories broke about a think tank, Labour Together, investigating journalists who published stories about its donations while he ran it. Labour Together is also seen as having been involved in factional in-fighting against the left wing of the party, particularly during the final years of Corbyn’s leadership. One source described the idea of his being brought on board as a “bugbear” for the SCG.
The SCG has yet to publicly announce whether they intend to stand a candidate against Burnham in the 2026 leadership election. 81 MP nominations are needed to get on the ballot; the SCG has around 30 members. After last year’s deputy leadership election, in which the group’s candidate Bell Ribeiro-Addy failed to breach the threshold, there is an acknowledgement within the group that getting a candidate on the ballot paper would prove difficult.
Still, there are a few weeks to go before nominations close. During this time, representatives from the SCG could meet with Burnham’s team to discuss his policy direction or to negotiate frontbench positions. The new MP for Makerfield has only just been sworn in, but the coming weeks will involve a frenzy of politics.
[Further reading: The timeline: How Starmer lost control]
Content from our partners
Related
Join the debate
Subscribe here to comment