'Laughable': Andy Burnham 'not up to the job of Prime Minister', former Home Secretary says
Critics have suggested the Greater Manchester mayor doesn't have the capacity to head up the Labour Party
A former Home Secretary has told LBC that Andy Burnham is not up to the job of being Prime Minister - describing any potential candidacy as "laughable".
Listen to this article
Charles Clarke, former Home Secretary in Tony Blair's government, told Andrew Marr the Greater Manchester mayor doesn't have the capacity to head up the Labour Party or run the country.
His comments come as the Labour Party conference gets underway in Liverpool following weeks of speculation over whether Mr Burnham will launch a leadership challenge as Sir Keir Starmer's government faces repeated setbacks.
Mr Burnham has said MPs are privately urging him to challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership in an intervention that is likely to fuel speculation he could be seeking a return to Westminster.
Read more: Andy Burnham urges Labour to end ‘culture of fear’ in party and tells Starmer to 'go further'
This was described by Mr Clarke as "self-indulgent".
"I mean he was one of my junior ministers," he said. "He was OK as a junior minister.
"I think he's doing a good job as the mayor of Manchester by all accounts.
"Do I think he's up to the job of being leader of the Labour Party or certainly the job of being Prime Minister? It's laughable.
"He doesn't have the capacity to do those things. He has no route as he said himself to doing it without becoming a Member of Parliament. And I think it's a self-indulgence which is completely unwarranted."
Sir Keir had attempted to get his rule back on track by launching “phase two” of his government ahead of a new term of Parliament and conference season.
But, almost immediately, the momentum hit the buffers with the resignation of Angela Rayner forcing a reshuffle and internal election to replace the deputy prime minister.
This was followed by the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson over his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, which have recently come to light.
Mr Clarke has highlighted how important stability is in British politics, telling Andrew Marr that France, Germany, and America are missing this.
"Contrary to what Nigel Farage and Elon Musk say we will have a general election in 2028, 2029.
"There won't be something before that. There's a large majority for the government.
"There are no circumstances I can envisage where that will change.
"I equally believe there are absolutely no circumstances where Keir Starmer will not lead that Labour Party into government in that time.
"So we have a period of three or four years' stability in Britain."