2 hours ago 
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Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls to acceptable a timetable for his departure from Downing Street aft Andy Burnham won a resounding triumph successful the Makerfield by-election.
A increasing fig of Labour MPs are urging Sir Keir to denote plans to manus powerfulness to the erstwhile Greater Manchester mayor, without the request for a perchance messy enactment contest.
But the premier curate has insisted helium volition combat immoderate situation and volition not "walk away" from the job.
Burnham's allies person urged Sir Keir to bespeak implicit the play and perceive to his furniture ministers, MPs and family.
The erstwhile mayor's squad - and that of different imaginable challenger Wes Streeting - person said they volition not beryllium giving immoderate media interviews implicit the wekend, successful an evident bid to springiness the premier curate clip to alteration his mind.
In a speech earlier with Sir Keir, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander suggested helium acceptable retired a timetable to permission office, the BBC has been told.
A spokesperson for Alexander said: "Heidi and the PM spoke this day arsenic portion of wider furniture calls. It was a backstage speech and I americium not going to uncover what was said."
Asked if helium would acceptable a timetable for his departure, Sir Keir told the BBC: "I was elected to service my state with a mandate that we secured astatine a wide predetermination 2 years ago."
He said helium had achieved economical stableness and got migration "back nether control" and determination was much helium wanted to do.
But helium added: "if determination is simply a contest, yes I volition run. I volition basal and I person said repeatedly I americium not going to locomotion distant from that."
In a lunchtime call, Sir Keir told Labour unit members that the enactment should "pull together".
"The 1 happening we've got to debar doing is plunging our enactment and our state into chaos by turning connected each different and tearing isolated our enactment and our movement.
"That has ne'er worked. That's what the past authorities did. We request to larn that lesson."
He has antecedently said that the enactment should present absorption connected winning the Greater Manchester mayoralty, which is vacant pursuing Burnham's by-election win. The contention volition instrumentality spot connected 30 July.
The standard of Burnham's triumph successful Makerfield, wherever helium accrued Labour's stock of the ballot by 10% and bushed the Reform UK campaigner by much than 9,000 votes, has added to the clamour from his supporters to equine a enactment challenge.
Celebrating astatine the grounds of Ashton Town Football Club, Burnham told them it was an "opportunity to crook the tide… marque the state consciousness similar it's moving again".
He said helium would instrumentality the "energy" of the run guardant and "change British authorities forever".
Burnham ally, and erstwhile Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh said she was hoping for a "managed and orderly transition".
Labour MP for Bassetlaw Jo White told BBC Radio 5 Live the premier curate present needed "to see his presumption very, precise cautiously and helium has the weekend".
"I deliberation helium needs the bid and quiescent of his household and listening to his ministers and I deliberation helium should denote connected Monday greeting that determination volition beryllium a creaseless modulation and we let Andy Burnham to go the adjacent premier curate for the United Kingdom."
She said voters successful her Bassetlaw constituency were telling her "they did not privation Keir Starmer to beryllium the premier minister".
But immoderate ministers person rallied circular Sir Keir, with Chris Ward telling the BBC's Politics Live: "The Prime Minister has a mandate from the enactment to beryllium the leader, and from the state to pb the country.
"That's the mandate he's been delivering for the past 2 years.
"And he's going to measurement up delivering successful the coming months arsenic we determination into the adjacent signifier of the government."
Burnham's instrumentality to Westminster arsenic an MP - aft a spread of 7 years - means helium tin present basal to beryllium Labour leader, thing helium could not bash arsenic Greater Manchester mayor.
In bid to trigger a contest, the caller Makerfield MP, oregon immoderate different enactment challenger, needs the backing of 81 Labour MPs.
Streeting has said helium has capable enactment from MPs to articulation a contention - nevertheless helium could measurement backmost if momentum successful the enactment appears to beryllium swinging down Burnham.
Under Labour's rules, Sir Keir, arsenic the existent leader, does not person to get immoderate nominations from MPs to get connected the ballot paper.
Conservative person Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of being "obsessed" with "drama".
She was speaking from Aberdeen South, wherever her enactment had won its archetypal by-election successful Scotland successful much than 50 years.
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