Labour winds are blowing towards Burnham and Streeting knows it

"Who said the Labour party needs a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates? Until Thursday morning, almost everyone would have attributed those words to Andy Burnham, the mayor or Greater Manchester. But those were the closing paragraphs of the former health secretary Wes Streeting's resignation letter, a cadence so similar to Burnham's own that it cannot be accidental."

"So is this the first glimmer of a deal between Labour's two powerhouses the soft left and the centrists? Streeting might have once hoped he had the chance of a coronation, but he does not have enough names to mount a challenge and Keir Starmer would fight him if he did. He was on the brink of utter humiliation. He knows which way the wind is blowing and it is blowing towards Manchester."

"In order to challenge Starmer, Burnham still needs a seat in Westminster a challenge that is proving quite hard to surmount. It might take him time to find one. But he is also the candidate who has the most support in the parliamentary party, the membership and in the country. No one thinks Starmer has the political authority now to block him via the party's national executive committee."

"It is a cliche to say that Burnham, who served under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Jeremy Corbyn, has been on a political journey. In recent times, he has been the closest ally of the party's left, a defender of those who were pursued by Starmer and Morgan McSweeney's relentless factionalism. Streeting has a hard-won reputation for being one of the most aggressive anti-Corbyn factionalists, but has recently himself begun to say publicly that even he has been uncomfortable with the way that party discipline has been exerted under Starmer with the routine suspension of party rebels."

The resignation letter of Wes Streeting ends with a call for Labour to focus on ideas rather than personalities or petty factionalism, and to present the best possible candidates. The wording closely resembles statements associated with Andy Burnham, suggesting potential alignment between Labour’s soft left and centrists. Streeting’s position is constrained by the lack of names to mount a challenge and by Keir Starmer’s ability to block leadership contests. Burnham’s ability to challenge Starmer depends on securing a Westminster seat, though he has strong support across the parliamentary party, membership, and the country. Burnham has recently aligned with the party’s left, while Streeting has been known as an aggressive anti-Corbyn factionalist but has grown uncomfortable with Starmer-era party discipline and suspensions of rebels.

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