Starmer Ally Says UK PM Mulling Realities' as Pressure Builds

Starmer's position is under unprecedented pressure after Burnham swept to victory in a parliamentary special election last week, proving to his Labour colleagues that he has what it takes to beat the right-wing populists of Nigel Farage's Reform UK, the party that's led national polls for more than a year. A clear majority of the premier's cabinet believe it's inevitable Burnham will replace Starmer, according to people familiar with the thinking of more than 15 of them who spoke to Bloomberg on Friday.

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The Observer newspaper on Sunday reported that Starmer was preparing to set out a timetable for his departure after concluding that his position is no longer tenable. A clear statement could come as soon as Monday, the paper said, citing unnamed senior Labour Party figures.

"I have nothing to believe that they are true," Kyle told Sky, referring to such reports. He declined to engage in the "speculation, which I know is out there" surrounding the Labour leadership.

Kyle said he hadn't spoken to the prime minister since a "very detailed"conversation on Friday. He declined to divulge what he said in the meeting, which he said was "personal" and "private." He also said he had he sent a text message to Burnham to congratulate him, but hadn't heard back.

Speaking later to the BBC, Kyle said Burnham is one of many people in Labour with "the qualifications, the temperament, and the qualities to become prime minister," and indicated that if given the opportunity to be part of a Burnham cabinet, he would accept.

"I've thrown my heart and soul into re-industrializing our economy, getting growth into the economy, supporting those high-growth sectors of our economy. I am loving this job," he said. "If I ever have the chance to serve a Labour government doing this sort of thing, then, of course, I would grab it with both hands, because it is a privilege of a lifetime, and it is changing lives and creating jobs around our country."

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Buoyed by the highest favorability ratings of any senior UK politician, Burnham, 56, has made it clear he intends to challenge Starmer for the premiership. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has also said he would stand in any contest, while Starmer - publicly at least - has vowed to fight on, saying Britons wouldn't forgive Labour for indulging in a leadership race at the expense of running the country.

Starmer has been weighed down by a series of policy positions that were unpopular within Labour, as well as costly U-turns and record low ratings. After Labour suffered a disastrous set of local elections last month, in which both Reform and the Greens made large gains, approaching a quarter of his party's MPs called on him to go.

"It feels like we've come to the end of the road," one of those MPs, Jess Phillips, told BBC News on Sunday. Permitting the premier's departure to be "as dignified as possible, and allowing it to be in Keir Starmer's gift a little bit, does seem like the very best solution - rather than next week just being an enormous bun fight of everybody having a big row."

However another Labour MP, Toby Perkins told the BBC Starmer "deserves a bit of time" and that "I don't believe that this is a government that's manifestly failing."

Burnham is due to swear in as a member of Parliament next week, at which point he will automatically lose his post as Greater Manchester mayor. That will trigger a by-election in Manchester, and it will be a Labour priority to retain the mayoralty.