Supporters of Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham fear the West Gambit could soon trigger a race for their man to get into parliament. “Anyone who wants the Prime Minister to resign but uses the words ‘systemic change’ is talking about waiting for Andy,” one of his supporters said.
The idea is that the latest contest would benefit the potential candidates Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister who was forced to resign from the government over a tax scandal.
The first one it is said to be prepare a policy plan, the second time put one in a social media information Sunday night, putting Starmer ahead of his speech. “This may be our last chance,” Rayner said. “The prime minister must now face the times and put in place the changes that our country needs.”
But, to either launch their own challenge, one of three things would have to happen: They would have to go up and try to force a vote themselves, Starmer would have to resign, or the 81 nominations his fellow MPs would have to support West’s candidacy to start an official contest.
Fight to the end
It’s unclear whether West will get enough nominations to start a run on his own — and not doing so could mean a quiet continuation.
The three people who have crunched the numbers argue that if you exclude those who support Burnham, those who want Starmer to stay (or at least avoid the chaos of the leadership race) and leaders who do not want to resign to support a stalking horse, there would be no way to reach 81 nominations. In his interview with the BBC, West refused to say whether he thought he had the numbers.
