Burnham says he would seek to enter any Labour leadership contest

Andy Burnham said helium would question to participate immoderate imaginable Labour enactment contention should helium triumph the Makerfield by-election connected 18 June.

The Greater Manchester Mayor besides told BBC Question Time that helium would "take the combat to alteration authorities and alteration this region arsenic precocious arsenic I could".

But Reform UK campaigner Robert Kenyon said determination is simply a request for a "big determination distant from vocation politicians" and warned against utilizing Makerfield arsenic a "stepping stone".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defied calls from immoderate Labour MPs to measurement down aft mediocre predetermination results past month. No ceremonial situation has been launched against him.

The by-election was called aft then-Labour MP Josh Simons stepped down, a determination helium said was to let Burnham to tally for Parliament and perchance equine a enactment bid.

Burnham and Kenyon, a plumber and section councillor, were among 5 of the 14 candidates successful the by-election who appeared connected Question Time successful Makerfield.

Asked astir however politicians could reconstruct nationalist spot successful them, Burnham criticised "point-scoring earlier problem-solving" successful Westminster earlier helium was pressed astir his ain ambitions.

The Labour campaigner said: "I can't bash thing unless I'm fortunate capable to get the enactment of radical here.

"But if I get your support, I would question to correspond you astatine the highest imaginable level and springiness this constituency maximum powerfulness and influence.

"I deliberation Wes Streeting seems to person launched a enactment contest, truthful if that is moving I would question to articulation it, but I'd person to transportation members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to bash the same."

Any challenger wanting to trigger a enactment contention indispensable beryllium an MP and person the backing of 81 Labour MPs.

Streeting has confirmed helium would participate immoderate imaginable contention and has encouraged radical to backmost Burnham successful Makerfield arsenic helium wants a "proper contention with the champion candidates connected the field".

Kenyon criticised Burnham's grounds arsenic politician successful Manchester saying portion that metropolis "thrives we're struggling to past successful Wigan", adding: "We've been near behind."

He said determination was a request to "get mean radical successful politics, radical who attraction astir the place, radical who unrecorded successful the spot and radical who privation to enactment present and not usage it arsenic a stepping chromatic for different things".

Conservative campaigner Michael Winstanley questioned wherefore Burnham was seeking a instrumentality to Parliament aft antecedently pledging to service his existent word arsenic mayor, adding helium was "disgusted" and "sad that we're having this by-election foisted upon us".

He added: "We volition get escaped of Keir Starmer whichever person is elected successful this by-election and if you ballot for me, it'll velocity it up straightaway."

Burnham replied by saying "you cannot power events successful politics" arsenic helium highlighted Labour's losses to Reform successful caller assembly elections successful the area.

Green Party campaigner Sarah Wakefield said determination was a request for "serious conversations astir who is contributing for a amended aboriginal for our children, to lick the clime crisis, to get our precocious streets going, to marque definite that we person the wealth backmost successful towns and villages".

Liberal Democrat campaigner Jake Austin said the by-election was an "election for a imaginable aboriginal premier curate via the backdoor and that's not the close mode to beryllium doing politics".

A afloat database of the parties who person enactment guardant candidates for the Makerfield by-election tin beryllium recovered here.