A Yorkshire Coast MP has refused to say who they would back in a Labour Party leadership election.
Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, refused to be drawn on whom she would back in a potential leadership contest, should Andy Burnham win the Makerfield by-election and challenge Keir Starmer.
She added that the prime minister had her full support.
Appearing on a BBC Question Time special on Thursday, the mayor of Greater Manchester said he would seek to enter any potential Labour leadership contest if he wins the by-election on June 18.
Ms Hume, who was first elected in 2024, remained tight-lipped on the party’s leadership crisis which intensified after almost 100 MPs called on the prime minister to resign following major losses in May’s local elections.
Asked who she would back in a potential leadership contest, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “No comment. There is no leadership challenge at the moment, and the prime minister continues to have my full support.”
Labour MPs have been asked to campaign twice in the by-election, as well as on polling day.
Ms Hume told the LDRS she had not yet been canvassing in Makerfield, adding:
“As with all by-elections, I’ll be supporting [the candidate], and probably go on polling day.”
This week, multiple Labour backbenchers loyal to the PM told PoliticsHome that they would defy instructions to campaign twice in the constituency.
Rachael Maskell, the MP for York, has backed Andy Burnham to replace Keir Starmer as the Labour leader and said he would bring hope if he entered Number 10.
Ms Hume also declined to comment on whether the York MP was right to say the current mayor of Greater Manchester should replace Mr Starmer.
Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said a leadership contest had not been triggered but “the prime minister has been absolutely crystal clear that if there is a contest he will be in it”.
A Survation opinion poll (June 4) on the by-election put Andy Burnham ahead at 49 per cent, Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon on 39 per cent, Restore Britain’s Rebecca Shepherd on 8 per cent, the Green Party’s Sarah Wakefield on 2 per cent, and both the Liberal Democrats’ Jake Austin and The Conservatives’ Michael Winstanley on 1 per cent.
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