Labour deputy leadership candidate Lucy Powell says she can be 'bridge' between Starmer and Andy Burnham

"I can be a bridge between Andy and Keir and whoever else as well," she told LBC's Lewis Goodall. "And look, just like I'm going to be the bridge between the parliamentary Labour Party, the members, the unions and our communities. I'm going to be that bridge for the whole party and the leadership at the top."

Ms Powell's comments come amid rampant speculation Mr Burnham is plotting a return to Parliament and doubts over Sir Keir's ability to lead the party heading into the next general election, as right-wing Reform gain more ground according to polls.

While offering warm praise for Mr Burnham - calling him a "good friends", "an effective political" and "very popular" - she stressed her commitment to Sir Keir's leadership.

“Of course I want him to be leader. No-one wants a big leadership contest and all this speculation. Everybody wants us to get on with the job that we're here to do," Ms Powell said.

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At the same time, she acknowledged that Labour is "not being the best versions of ourselves" and called for a "course correction" to sharpen the party's effectiveness in government.

Ms Powell also said she had been "incredibly restrained" in her criticism of the government, adding: "I'm not providing a running commentary on this government. That's not my interest."

On Reform UK's immigration stance, she condemned its plan to deport people living in the UK lawfully as "wrong" and "immoral."

She also criticised Nigel Farage's rhetoric, saying: "Some of the things Nigel Farage says are obviously racist. That's clear, isn't it?"

Earlier this week, Sir Keir dismissed the “personal ambitions” of Mr Burnham amid speculation his premiership could be under threat from the Greater Manchester mayor.

In a series of interventions which have been widely seen as a pitch for a future leadership bid, Mr Burnham proposed a 50p top rate of income tax and a tax cut for lower earners.

The Prime Minister appeared to attack his potential leadership rival’s economic agenda by drawing parallels with Liz Truss, adding that he is “not prepared to let a Labour government ever inflict that harm on working people”.

"I’m not going to get drawn in to commenting on the personal ambitions of the mayor, but I do want to be really clear about our fiscal rules because economic stability is the foundation stone of this Government," he said.

“It was three years this week ago that we had the Liz Truss experiment where she abandoned fiscal rules, in her case for tax cuts, and the result was a disaster for working people.

“The same would be true if you abandoned fiscal rules in favour of spending. And I’m not prepared to ever have that inflicted on working people again.”

The Manchester mayor previously said he would “turn the country around” by hiking council tax on expensive homes in London and the South East, invest £40 billion of borrowed money to build council houses, and slash income tax for lower earners and a 50p rate for the highest-paid.

A close ally of Sir Keir told Bloomberg Mr Burnham's policies are "irresponsible" and warned that his proposals could spark a market meltdown similar to the crisis triggered by Liz Truss’s mini-budget.

Meanwhile, Ms Powell is currently battling against Bridget Phillipson to succeed Angela Rayner as the party’s deputy leader.

Ms Phillipson and Ms Powell will take part in a hustings on the last day of Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool before members vote in October.

The winner of the deputy leadership contest will be announced on October 25.