Starmer loyalist Hurley backs Burnham for leader

Southport Labour MP Patrick Hurley - known for being a supporter of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - has said he would vote for Andy Burnham in a leadership challenge.

Burnham won the Makerfield by-election by more than 9,000 votes - opening the way for him to challenge Sir Keir.

Last month, Hurley said he did not want the Labour Party to be involved in what he called the "soap opera" of a leadership contest.

Following Burnham's win, Hurley said: "This is a great opportunity to push forward a radical, monumental agenda," adding: "I just don't think Keir Starmer would do that."

• Which Labour MPs have come out against Starmer?

He also said: "People are telling me over and over and over again they are impatient, people want urgency, people want to see us with a level of ambition that they perceive we've not had for the past two years.

"And I don't think that asking them to wait another few months whilst the Labour Party sorts itself out yet again is a tenable position for us to ask the electorate to go through.

"I think we just need to seize the mantle and give the country the urgency that they are asking."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.