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Andy Burnham was forced to admit his leadership ambitions because of the Labour Government’s “toxicity”, reports suggest. The mayor of Greater Manchester used his appearance on a BBC Question Time special on Thursday to confirm that he would challenge Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader and Prime Minister if he succeeds in returning to the Commons.

Mr Burnham hopes to return to Parliament by winning the Makerfield by-election on June 18. He told the BBC that “fundamental change” is needed in Westminster to restore the public’s trust in politicians.

“I can’t do anything unless I’m lucky enough to get the support of people here,” he added. “But if I get your support, I would seek to represent you at the highest possible level and give this constituency maximum power and influence.”

Mr Burnham is one of 14 candidates standing in Makerfield, with the vote expected to be a race between him and Reform UK’s candidate Robert Kenyon, a local councillor and plumber.

A by-election poll released on Thursday evening showed Mr Burnham in the lead with 49% of the vote, with Mr Kenyon trailing behind on 39%.

Despite this, the mayor is reportedly keen to continue distancing himself from the current Labour leadership amid fears that its unpopularity could dent his chances of success.

One unnamed MP told The Independent: “Focus groups show nothing less will cut through the Labour brand toxicity. ‘Changing Labour’ isn’t explicit enough.”

Another added: “The Labour brand is not just bad, it’s toxic. Andy isn’t toxic. Labour is. That’s the only reason we might just get over the line.”

Responding to Mr Burnham’s leadership ambitions, Sir Keir insisted he was “not going to walk away” from Number 10, warning that a contest would stop Britain dealing with the “serious issues of our time”.

He told LBC: “Andy’s got a lot of talent, of course he has. We’re fighting hard in Makerfield but I also profoundly believe that to plunge our country into the chaos of a leadership fight, when as we’re talking about this morning, we’re facing a war on two fronts.

“The Ukraine war is going on, we’ve got conflict in the Middle East. Both of these have to be resolved … We have to step up on defence and security of our country … not plunge into an internal fight in the Labour Party, which will distract us from the job that we are elected to do.”