Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham meet with school children at a primary school in Ashton-under-Lyne, north-west England, Monday April 13, 2026. Angela Rayner had a secret meeting with Andy Burnham on Friday night, according to new reports.
The Sun on Sunday shared photos of the Greater Manchester mayor arriving at the former deputy prime minister’s constituency home in Ashton.
Their summit adds to mounting speculation the two soft-left Labour figures might be considering launching a joint coup.
Their encounter came hours after Keir Starmer furiously defended his premiership amid fresh developments in the Peter Mandelson scandal.
It was revealed by the Guardian this week that the ex-Labour peer failed security vetting, but still secured the top job as the UK’s ambassador to the US.
Starmer has since insisted that he was not told Mandelson had failed and only found out on Tuesday night.
He then sacked the chief of the Foreign Office, Olly Robbins, on Thursday night.
As scrutiny over Starmer’s judgement grows once again, technology secretary Liz Kendall sent a message to the PM’s potential opponents this morning.
She said: “Any politician that focuses more on their future and their job, not people’s future sand their jobs, will lose the public support. That is why I back Keir Starmer.”
Burnham was blocked by Labour’s executive body from running for parliament earlier this year amid fears he would try to overthrow Starmer once safely set up with a seat in the Commons.
Rayner is allegedly also considering a run at the top job, but may still be hampered from any power grab by the ongoing HMRC investigation into her tax affairs.
She had to step down from the cabinet last year after underpaying on stamp duty when buying an £800,000 property.
Labour is expected to endure major losses at the elections in May, when Holyrood and the Senedd are up for re-election along with hundreds of local authorities in England.
Insiders have told HuffPost UK any leadership challenge to Starmer will likely come after the elections so any successor can avoid taking responsibility for the bloodbath.
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