Andy Burnham has responded after Labour MP Clive Lewis said he would be willing to give up his seat for the Manchester mayor so he could have a route back into parliament.
Speaking on Politics Live on Wednesday, Lewis spoke of his dissatisfaction with Keir Starmer and the current Labour government.
When asked, he said he would give up his Norwich South seat for Bunrham so he could become an MP again and challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership.
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Later in the day, Lewis rowed back on his comments, saying he has “no plans to stand down.”
Now, Burnham himself has responded to Lewis’ offer.
Whilst he said he “appreciates the support” of Labour MP Clive Lewis, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he was “fully focused on my role of mayor of Greater Manchester.”
Burnham also said he backed the intentions of Shabana Mahmood to reform the asylum system, after she announced controversial plans this week which have upset some Labour backbenchers.
He said the home secretary is “right to grasp this nettle and have root and branch reform of the system.”
But he added that he has “concern” about one aspect of the plans, in which asylum seekers would find it difficult to settle permanently in the UK, facing regular reviews of whether it is safe for them to return home for up to 20 years.
Burnham said: “I do have a concern about leaving people without the ability to settle, one of the concerns being that if there’s a need to constantly check up on the status of countries where people have come from, that might limit the ability of the Home Office to deal with the backlog. And it also may leave people in a sense of limbo and unable to integrate.”
Earlier this year, there were reports that Burnham was eyeing up a bid at the Labour leadership. Burnham himself added fuel to the fire when he claimed Labour MPs were privately urging him to challenge Starmer.
Burnham, who has been mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, is a popular figure both among Labour MPs and the public.
More recently, there has been much speculation about Starmer’s position as leader and prime minister.
Last week, Number 10 sources briefed against health secretary Wes Streeting, saying Starmer was ready to fight any challenge to his leadership.
And this week, the Times reported that the soft-left of Labour were rallying ahead of a potential leadership contest, and reportedly had the numbers to support a candidate to challenge Starmer.