The Labour Party found itself at the center of renewed leadership speculation this week after Clive Lewis, the long-serving MP for Norwich South, publicly offered to give up his seat to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, potentially paving the way for a dramatic challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. Lewis’s comments, made during an appearance on BBC’s Politics Live on November 19, 2025, have reignited debates about the party’s direction, unity, and the future of its top job.
"If I’m going to sit here and say country before party, party before personal ambition, then yes, I have to say yes, don’t I?" Lewis told the BBC, reflecting on whether he’d step aside for Burnham. He added that he had spoken to Burnham about the possibility, though he would need to consult with his family before making any final decision. The offer, while hypothetical at this stage, has added fuel to ongoing speculation that Burnham, who left the Commons in 2017 to become mayor, is contemplating a return to Westminster with ambitions for Labour’s top spot.
For months, whispers about Burnham’s leadership aspirations have circulated within party circles and the press. According to The Independent, Burnham was touted as a possible successor to Starmer during Labour’s autumn conference, having dropped "repeated hints" that he was eyeing a comeback. In interviews with the New Statesman and The Telegraph ahead of the September 2025 conference, Burnham criticized Starmer’s approach and said, "the challenge we've got in front of us cannot be met by a very factional and quite divisive running of the Labour Party." He acknowledged that MPs had been urging him to stand, but insisted the decision was "more for them than it is for me," and reaffirmed his commitment to his mayoral role, at least for the time being.
Lewis, who first won his Norwich South seat in 2015 and increased his majority to over 13,000 in the previous year, has been vocal about his willingness to put "country before party." Last week, he described Starmer’s position as "untenable" and told Channel 4 News that Burnham should be given the chance to "step up." Yet, in a conversation with The Sun’s political editor, Kate Ferguson, Lewis clarified, "A hypothetical question was put to me, and my answer was consistent with what I’ve been saying, that I am serious about putting country before party." He insisted he had "no plans to stand down," suggesting the offer was more a statement of principle than an immediate resignation.
The prospect of Burnham returning to parliament is not without hurdles. Any would-be successor to Lewis in Norwich South would first need to win a selection contest, followed by a by-election. More importantly, a leadership challenge requires the backing of at least 80 Labour MPs—a threshold that, according to The Times, senior MPs in the Tribune Group believe they could reach, though they have not yet united around a single candidate.
The party’s internal tensions have been on full display in recent weeks. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has himself faced rumors of plotting a leadership bid, called Lewis’s offer "peculiar." Speaking to LBC, Streeting remarked, "I’ve got a lot of time for Andy and I think we need our best players on the pitch. And whether he’s doing that as mayor of Greater Manchester or whether he wants to come back into parliament in the next general election, that is an issue for Andy. I think it’s a bit of a peculiar thing for Clive to have said to his own constituents, ‘Oh, well, I’m not interested in being your MP, I’m happy to do a deal with someone’. I would just say from personal experience, don’t take your voters for granted."
Other Labour figures have sought to tamp down the speculation. Both Andrew Gwynne and Graham Stringer, Labour MPs from Manchester, ruled out standing down for Burnham ahead of the party’s September conference. Meanwhile, allies of former deputy leader Angela Rayner and Streeting himself have denied any involvement in plots to oust Starmer. The Prime Minister, for his part, has responded with a call for unity, telling his cabinet on November 18, 2025, that "distractions" in recent weeks meant the government’s focus had "shifted from where it mattered most." He reaffirmed, "I will lead Labour into the next general election."
The backdrop to all this is a party wrestling with its own future as it heads into a potentially bruising set of elections in May 2026, including contests in Scotland, Wales, and English local authorities. According to BBC reporting, speculation about Starmer’s leadership is expected to intensify if Labour performs poorly in those races. Anonymous briefings to journalists last week suggested some cabinet ministers were plotting to oust Starmer, though those ministers have flatly denied the allegations.
Public opinion within the party is hardly settled. A recent YouGov survey, cited by The Independent, found that 23% of Labour voters think Starmer should quit now, while another 22% believe he should step down before the next general election (due by 2029 at the latest). Only 34% support him remaining in post until then—a statistic that will not have gone unnoticed by those eyeing the leadership.
Lewis’s comments also touched on the broader malaise within Labour. He described the party’s situation as "hard to see a way out of," likening it to being in "checkmate." Drawing a comparison to the Conservatives’ recent leadership turmoil, Lewis noted the "democratic legitimacy" problem for leaders who have not won a general election, referencing Liz Truss’s brief tenure after Boris Johnson. "I know exactly the problems that we face… we’re in a quandary, it feels like we are in checkmate, it’s hard to see a way out of it," he said on Politics Live.
As for Burnham, his ambitions remain the subject of intense speculation. While he has stated he is "completely committed" to his job as mayor, he has not ruled out a leadership bid. In September, he told reporters he had "no intention of abandoning Manchester," but left the door open to persuasion, especially as colleagues continued to urge him to stand.
Number 10 has declined to comment on the unfolding situation. Meanwhile, the party’s left flank appears to be quietly preparing for all eventualities, with MPs reportedly making plans for a potential leadership race, even as they struggle to unite behind a single figurehead.
With the next general election still years away, Labour’s internal debates are likely far from over. For now, Clive Lewis’s gesture has brought simmering tensions to the surface, raising fresh questions about unity, leadership, and the party’s path forward as it faces a pivotal period in British politics.
