Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will fight for his job if he is challenged for the Labour leadership, as Reform UK and Labour insiders claimed Andy Burnham was facing a “tight” race in his bid to return to Westminster this week.
Starmer, speaking at the G7 summit in France, struck a defiant note ahead of Thursday’s Makerfield by-election, telling his rivals — including former health secretary Wes Streeting — to back off and let him get on with governing.
“I’ve been very clear throughout this that we won a significant general election result in 2024 with a mandate to bring about change,” the prime minister told Times Radio. “I’m not going to walk away from that so I will fight if there’s a challenge. I don’t think there should be a challenge.”