16 SEPTEMBER 2025 | NEWS
We present today a round-up of a tumultuous week in both UK and US politics.
There is speculation in Westminster that the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is gearing up to run for the Labour leadership against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Wolves understands.
Burnham, 55, is the incumbent Mayor of Greater Manchester, having been elected to the post in 2017 with 63% of the vote. Burnham has subsequently been re-elected twice, in 2021 and 2024.
Previously, he was the Member of Parliament for Leigh between 2005 and 2015, and served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
There is widespread speculation in the mainstream media that Burnham intends to stand for Parliament following the resignation of a Labour MP in the Manchester area, in order to enter Parliament and challenge Starmer formally.
Alongside this, Lucy Powell’s candidacy for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party is increasingly viewed as a proxy Burnham campaign. Powell was not associated with Burnham, but she did manage Ed Miliband’s successful 2010 leadership campaign and is associated with the ‘soft Left’ of the party, to which Burnham belongs.
It is widely believed that the MP who wishes to stand down in favour of Burnham is Graham Stringer, the MP for Blackley and Middleton South, who is apparently in ill health.
Burnham is the only senior Labour politician with a positive net approval rating, and is seen by many Labour figures as their ‘last hope’. The political grouping ‘Mainstream’, founded earlier this year in August, has also been reported to be an unofficial campaign organisation for Burnham, one of its key co-founders.
Notably, Wolves understands that there have been several major edits to Burnham’s Wikipedia page in recent weeks, which seem designed to bolster his credentials as a potential future leader.
It comes following a chaotic week for the Government, after former Deputy PM Angela Rayner was forced to step aside after a Ministerial Code row over whether she had underpaid stamp duty when purchasing a property to the tune of £40,000 – particularly given her secondary role as Housing Secretary.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage incorrectly stated, during an address to Conference attendees, that Ms Rayner had underpaid council tax. His address had been hastily moved forwards to 1pm from 4pm. Notably, the BBC reported that he had stated “stamp duty”, when in fact he had not. It is assumed that these are merely administrative errors made in haste.
These developments led to a Cabinet reshuffle last Friday, which saw David Lammy become Deputy PM and Justice Secretary, with former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper moving to head up the Foreign Office and Shabana Mahmood ascending to the role of Home Secretary.
A further controversy around Lord Mandelson, who was forced to resign from his role as Ambassador to the United States last week over further revelations regarding his ongoing friendship with and support for the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, rounded off the Prime Minister’s headaches from the past week.
Reactions to the speculation around Burnham have been mixed. Notably, Nigel Farage – the leader of Reform UK – has said that his party would “throw the kitchen sink” at Burnham if he chose to stand. Indeed, pollster reports indicate that there are very few safe Labour seats left in the Greater Manchester area due to Reform UK’s current polling lead.
Burnham is touted by the left of the Labour party, and by some in the centre, as the best alternative to Starmer because he is viewed as competent, and because of his Northern background. Both are areas in which the party sees itself to need greater credibility, especially given the recent scandals surrounding Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
For many MPs, it is understood that the Mandelson scandal was the final straw. Labour MP Clive Lewis was the first to call for Starmer to go, saying he was “not up to the job” on 13 September.
Sources in Westminster have also hinted that Mr Burnham could be only the first of many to mount such a challenge. Downing Street has been approached for comment.
Elsewhere, the Wolves were roaming at Reform UK’s Conference last week, where we conducted interviews with several young Councillors, as well as those representing the party’s regional branches.
A summary of the interviews with the young Councillors, as well as with the regional representatives, can be viewed here:
More latterly, Danny Kruger, the MP for East Wiltshire, has yesterday defected to Reform UK from the Conservatives, and has been tasked with preparing the party for governance. This was announced at a press conference yesterday morning.
Addressing the press, he said: “Britain is not broken, but it is badly damaged”, adding: “Reform UK is not a revolutionary force, but a radical one.”
He went on to wish his former colleagues well in their future political endeavours, but stated that he felt “the flame of conservatism [had] now been passed to a new torch”. Comment has been invited from CCHQ.
Finally, Wolves would like to join many others in paying tribute to the US conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who last week was murdered by gunshot while delivering an address on the Utah University campus. US President Donald Trump posted on X that “no-one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie”. Vice-President JD Vance added on X: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.”
Following a vigil held at 6pm in Whitehall last Friday, the UK branch of the Turning Point franchise is planning to hold a memorial rally for Kirk on Sunday 21st September in Hyde Park, at 3pm.
Our Editor has made two media appearances in the past week to cover this, which can be viewed below, as a friend and former colleague of Kirk. Our thoughts lie with his friends and family. He leaves behind a wife, Erika, and both a young son and daughter, who will now grow up without a father.
