Stay away Keir! Andy Burnham's by-election team warns PM not to come and campaign in Makerfield

By JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR and SAM MERRIMAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 22:52, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 22:52, 4 June 2026 Andy Burnham's team is locked in a stand-off with Downing Street over whether Sir Keir Starmer should campaign in the Makerfield by-election. No 10 has said the Prime Minister will visit the constituency in a bid to show his support for the Labour candidate. Officials are drawing up plans for a low-key visit in the coming days – but an ally of Greater Manchester mayor Mr Burnham said Sir Keir's aides are being urged to drop the plan. The source told the Daily Mail: 'We keep telling them that we don't want him in Makerfield but they keep trying to foist him on us. It's the last thing we need.' Sir Keir visited Gorton and Denton in Greater Manchester ahead of a by-election there in February. Labour lost the seat, finishing third behind the Greens and Reform UK. The Prime Minister's popularity ratings are at rock bottom. During last month's local elections, Labour MPs complained he was 'detested on the doorstep'. Mr Burnham last night confirmed his campaign is a precursor to a leadership challenge against Sir Keir.  Campaigning this week, he said: 'I'm trying to change Labour. Labour's out of touch. That's basically what I'm doing.'  An ally of Greater Manchester mayor Mr Burnham said Sir Keir's aides are being urged to drop the plan for him to make a visit to Makerfield Plans are being drawn for Starmer to visit the constituency in a bid to show his support for Labour candidate, Andy Burnham It comes as a number of Labour MPs who are loyal to Sir Keir are said to be refusing to campaign for Mr Burnham in Makerfield. The Starmerite backbenchers are reportedly defying instructions to visit the Greater Manchester constituency before polls close on June 18.  A Labour MP who has decided not to campaign told the website PoliticsHome: 'There's great confusion about the by-election.  'People feel like they are being asked to take part in an act of self-harm and so aren't happy about campaigning. 'There's real upset that at a time when we need to be tackling some big national issues, we are creating an unnecessary diversion.' Some Labour MPs – including former health secretary Wes Streeting, who is expected to run against Mr Burnham in any leadership contest – have already visited Makerfield to campaign.  Labour Party chairman Anna Turley has asked all Labour MPs to canvass in the by-election twice during the campaign, plus on polling day. Some backbenchers have agreed to make phone calls instead of campaigning on the ground and some are still deciding whether or not to visit. Others said they would 'reluctantly' visit to 'show their face'. Meanwhile, Business Secretary Peter Kyle has warned that 'entitlement is not a qualification for leadership' in a veiled swipe at Mr Burnham. The Cabinet minister also criticised people who 'thrust themselves forward at moments of instability' in an apparent reference to the Manchester mayor's attempt to topple the Prime Minister. He urged Labour to learn from the Conservatives – who went through five prime ministers in six years. He told a press lunch: 'I don't think we've learned the lessons of the Tory party in government, where every time there was a problem... there was only one solution, and that's changing the leader at the top.' He complained that the media 'rewards the wrong behaviour in politics'. 'What the media report as positives is individual people that want to thrust themselves forward at moments of instability,' he said. 'Entitlement is not a qualification for leadership.  'And until we answer the question of what is a qualification for leadership, then I think we're always going to end up in this cycle of change.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.