Andy Burnham has plan to return to Westminster ‘within weeks’, allies say

Andy Burnham has a credible plan to return to Westminster “within weeks”, his allies have said, with the Greater Manchester mayor expected to use a byelection fight to set out a new agenda for government. Burnham, who was blocked by Labour’s ruling body from running in February’s Gorton and Denton byelection , has identified several seats where MPs are prepared to step aside for his leadership bid. In a sign that his campaign is more progressed than previously thought, Burnham’s team is understood to have lined up an “impressive” candidate to replace him as Greater Manchester mayor. Allies said he planned to outline a “radical rewiring” of the state in the coming weeks – including sweeping changes to the electoral system and a 10-year growth plan – after a potentially devastating set of elections on 7 May that could end Keir Starmer’s premiership. After a fortnight that left Starmer fighting for his political future over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, the number of MPs backing Burnham is understood to have grown to far more than the 80 required to challenge the prime minister. However, his supporters said they hoped to avoid a formal leadership challenge and to engineer a process where Starmer would set out a timetable to stand down soon after next week’s votes for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments and councils across England . …