Burnham may not be the popular choice for Labour

GREATER MANCHESTER MAYOR'S POPULARITY WANING

- By JOSEPH TIMAN At the Labour Party Conference

EVERYONE is talking about Andy Burnham. Despite boasting unrivalled popularity, he has annoyed a lot of people.

Keir Starmer is clearly unpopular and many in his party want to see a change - even if they won't say so publicly. Mr Burnham is the most popular alternative, according to the polls, but he is not in a position to challenge him.

And yet, for the last few weeks, the Labour mayor seems to have been doing exactly that - challenging the leader.

The former MP and minister has been setting out his own policy platform in the buildup to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool this week, calling for changes to income tax, more council housing and reform of the voting system.

Mr Burnham insists he has simply ‘launched a debate; but he has refused to rule out a run for leader. Instead, he told a fringe event on Monday he can’t run for leader because he is not an MP.

That hasn’t dampened rumours he is plotting a return to Parliament with several seats said to be ‘in play’

The problem is, despite polls putting Mr Burnham way ahead of any other Labour figure, his popularity is waning.

Unsurprisingly, his recent interventions have soured relationships with No 10 and other government departments.

But backbenchers are ‘p***ed off’ with the Labour mayor too, according to one MP who claims, by fuelling rumours he’s preparing to mount a leadership campaign, he has actually ‘united’ the parliamentary party against him. Last week, he claimed MPs were privately urging him to challenge the PM.

Even those who support Mr Burnham and want him to become Prime Minister aren't pleased with his performance, citing the feature interviews he gave to several publications in the weeks leading up to Labour’s party conference.

Some have described the mayor as appearing ‘desperate; while others say he has simply ‘gone too soon’.