Burnham Surges as Starmer Sinks: Labour Leadership War Explodes
From Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins by talkRADIO
May 19, 2026 · 27 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the shifting dynamics in the Labour leadership race, focusing on Andy Burnham's rise and Keir Starmer's decline amidst Brexit controversies.
Is Andy Burnham now the favourite to replace Keir Starmer? New polling suggests Andy Burnham would comfortably beat Keir Starmer in a Labour leadership contest, while support for Wes Streeting among Labour members appears to have collapsed. YouGov’s Patrick English breaks down the numbers behind Burnham’s surge, what Labour voters really think about Starmer’s leadership, and why Streeting’s leadership ambitions may already be fading. Meanwhile, Times political correspondent Max Kendix reacts to claims Burnham is becoming the “King of the U-turns” after rowing back on EU rejoin comments and signalling support for Rachel Reeves’ borrowing rules. Former Foreign Office adviser Ben Judah joins to discuss the escalating Brexit row inside Labour, after allies of Burnham accused Starmer’s camp of trying to sabotage him over Europe. With warnings that Brussels could demand billions for Britain to rejoin the EU, and Labour figures openly fighting over Brexit strategy, questions are growing over who really leads the party and where it wants to take the country. Burnham vs Starmer, Labour leadership polling, Streeting collapse, Brexit betrayal row, EU rejoin backlash. Is Labour heading for a…
People in this episode
Host: Ian Collins
Guests: Patrick English, Max Kendix, Ben Judah
Topics covered
- Labour leadership
- political polling
- Brexit
- party dynamics
- leadership contest
Keywords
- Andy Burnham
- Keir Starmer
- Wes Streeting
- Labour leadership
- Brexit
- YouGov polling
- political analysis
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: YouGov, Times, Labour, Rachel Reeves
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